Taking Note of a Few Things: The Moore on Free Speech Edition

Recently, Korbin Albert of the United States Women’s National Soccer Team was called out by retired soccer star Megan Rapinoe because Korbin liked an anti-trans-gender tweet. Rapinoe is one of the best known leaders of the pro LGBTQ movement and called out Albert who later apologized.

I have always been under the impression that freedom of speech means accepting one’s right to different opinions as yours without having to pressure that person into an apology, one I doubt is sincere as much as meant to get people off her back.

So much of the reason the far left is despised by the far right is this calling out and the attempts to cancel those with much less progressive views. The far left, all too often, is no different than the far right in that both sides want to shut up the other by making all their views seem so vile that they are not allowed to express them.

You cannot legislate hate, whether it is actual hate or just an opinion you do not like. When a team or an organization takes a hard line stand on an issue like transgender rights, they essentially tell someone like Albert we want you on our team, but we want you to not say anything while those who have different views as you are free to express what is the “company line.”

The beauty of sports used to be that it was a melting pot of society. Teams were open to people of all backgrounds and their fan base focused on cheering their teams to victory instead of the politics of the team. Today, many teams and organizations shoot themselves in the foot when they appear to support free expression of one group and not the free expression of others.

It’s not just speech, but it is also religion, politics, and entertainment. How many times are people pressured into apologizing, saying they misspoke or that their words were taken out of context? How many claim they appreciate the group they never meant to offend and look forward to growing more as a person after they get called out?

This is not to suggest that I think Rapinoe was wrong to respond to Albert. However, she had a choice. She could have called her out publicly or she could have called her on the phone and said, “Hey, what’s the deal with liking those tweets. I want to give you a chance to explain to me before I respond and call you out.” Maybe, just maybe, Albert tells Rapinoe it was stupid and asks her to first give Albert the chance to express it publicly.

I am the first to admit  I hate every word that comes out of the mouth of Donald Trump. I also want to believe the more he speaks, the more opportunity there is for people to realize what a pile of human waste he is. I am continually dumbfounded and disappointed to see how many people of my generation still worship him. Still, he is free to express himself so long as it falls within the confines of free speech.

Case in point, thanks to speaking freely, Trump would have us believe he is a modern day Jesus Christ and Nelson Mandela. Perhaps he should rot in a prison for 30 years to fully become another Mandela and then upon his release, be nailed to a cross and made to die. Somehow I think Trump would opt to see those punishments filled by an immigrant instead of himself.

It’s one thing to agree with a tweet if it expresses opposition to transgenders and their rights and another to express wanting to see harm done toward them. It’s hard to tell a young progressive this because they are prone to dismissing anything that comes out of the mouth of someone born in BC — before cell phones. They do not need educating in free speech because they were too busy trying to save every subgroup imaginable to learn what free speech entails. They do not know that free speech allows another person to be wrong.

Young progressives also fail to see the sheer stupidity of following the words of people they are in complete disagreement with and then calling them out just to learn much of society supports the hate they hate. While a fire of hate rages across this nation, they prefer to fill up buckets to extinguish hot spots while the real fire burns out of control. In the end, their hard work does more harm than good.

There will come a time, most likely long after I am dead, where the transgender issue will seem like it was much ado about nothing. I think gay marriage and legalizing pot prove this point. However, when that day comes, be assured, hate will still be out there because that is the one flame that burns strongest against the progressive movement. It always has and always will because it cannot be outlawed when it runs in the hearts and minds of the twisted.

I was happy to see the South Carolina women win the national title college basketball game. By defeating the Caitlyn Clark lead Iowa Hawkeyes, South Carolina completed a perfect 38-0 season and can claim being one of the greatest college teams ever. More than anyone, I was happiest for their head coach Dawn Staley.

In an era where head coaches try to avoid saying anything controversial or committal, Staley is an open book whenever meeting with the media to answer questions. Her openness and honesty talking about the challenges and joy of coaching this year’s squad was refreshing to see. Even more was her willingness to give a straight-forward answer when asked her opinion on whether transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in sports. She even stated to answer that question in any manner meant she would get hammered by groups on the eve of playing for a title and then went ahead and made her view known.

I will admit I do not have all the answers to the questions that divide our nation. I do know to try and shut up sides whose opinions run counter to yours is a sure fire ticket to add to the divide.

When I taught Social Studies, we often discussed controversial topics that divided teens. Almost every time we did, I was asked for my opinion. Before answering, I usually reminded students never to ask me for my opinion unless you were willing to hear something you did not like or agreed with. It is best to respect your enemies if you want them to respect you. However, respect and agreement are two different things.

Israel is now six months into a war to rid Gaza of terrorists and no closer to ending their fight despite the near total destruction of their neighbor’s land. Worse, they have lost the battle of public opinion and have only themselves to blame. You can only kill so many innocent people before the world turns on you. You can only inflict so much random violence, famine, and devastation before your leader’s true self is shown. By the time he has finished, Benjamin Netanyahu will have not just set back Israel’s image in the Middle East, he will have ruined it on a global level.

By the way, much closer to home is a total shit show called Haiti. It won’t ever be solved as long as we continue to throw aid money that ends up in the hands of horrific gang leaders and we are not about to put boots on the ground there. However, if ever there was a cause worth doing so, Haiti is long overdue.

Am I the only one who sees the utter nonsense of a presidential candidate telling Americans they must follow their hearts when it comes to abortion when it was his party that he controls that turned this into a major election obstacle for him, not to mention a medical obstacle for women. A man who leads a heartless party tells us to follow our heart. Fortunately, for him, his supporters are also lacking in brains and will think his stance is brilliant.

Trump essentially said abortion should be decided by the states and whatever they decide should not come back to bite him because he has no influence on them. Right. He has zero influence on conservative states.

It took about five minutes for the conservative controlled Arizona supreme court to turn back the clock to 1864. That is not a typo. The court said a woman may only get an abortion in the event her life is at risk, a ruling that was made 160 years ago.

Conservatives under Trump want a white nation even though there are not any whites lining up and demanding they be hired to do the cheap labor immigrants are providing. They also want to see every unwanted pregnancy result in birth, but have no desire to adopt these children. Oh, and they want Trump as president to do whatever he feels without being held accountable for the laws he breaks. I’m not a shrink, but I think this places this bunch in the category of delusional.

In Vietnam, if you commit large scale fraud, you get sentenced to death. In America, you have swarms of citizens who see you as their savior, head one of the two major political parties, and run for president while you appeal your mounting legal defeats. Can we drop former president Agent Orange on Vietnam and let them clean up the mess we leave behind? It wouldn’t be the first time we did this.

It’s another Summer Olympics year and we have another controversy over the design of the women’s track and field uniforms. No surprise, right? I guess the body suits they have made by Nike are cut way too high at the hips according to the groups of women complaining. The thing I find odd is this is the same sport where female middle and long distance runners prefer a sports bra and bikini bottoms which often reveal some strange tan lines.

I’ve said it before and will say it again. Perhaps it is time the competitors honor the Olympics past and compete buck naked. I have followed track and field since Jim Ryun was setting world records and never have I had a conversation with anyone where the topic was the uniforms athletes wear. Each athlete has multiple uniform options so can we just give this topic a rest?

OJ is dead. I had little reaction over his passing, which was a surprise given how much I loved watching him run with a football. If anything, he was the first athlete I remember who played to the camera and created a persona that was not reflective of who he was off the field. I wonder if CTE played a role with his anger which led to his murdering two people.

I do find myself wondering if there is truth in what Johnny Cochrane said to OJ’s jury, “It makes no sense. It doesn’t fit. If  it doesn’t fit, you must acquit,” what happens to Simpson if the coffin doesn’t fit?

The running back from USC turned out to be perhaps the greatest NFL running back when the playing conditions were horrible, especially when it was snowing.

May he rest in peace while he rots in hell. There, that should satisfy everyone.

Since I am focusing on free speech, I would be remiss not to mention my editor, Tim Forkes. Ten years ago, I sent a letter in response to the failures that Barack Obama left out of his State of the Union speech. This led to Tim inviting me to join the staff at The Los Angeles Post-Examiner and the opportunity to freely express myself.

Over the past decade, I have written hundreds of articles, and despite my opinions not always being those of LAPX, he has never refused to run anything I have submitted. At a time when most media groups fail to present counter views, Tim has always understood the importance of presenting the many views out there. It is, after all, what free speech is about.