This was an answer to a question over on Quora.
Charlie Hebdo goes entirely too far for me.
I will very likely never subscribe.
But did Charlie Hebdo go too far for anyone? Who gets to decide? Me? Why do I get to decide what is too far for someone else? I mean, maybe I do – but I’m not making that claim, and if someone else is, the onus is on them to explain why “going too far” for everyone ought to mean going too far for them, specifically.
Freedom of speech does include include speech that offends. It simply does. It’s very likely that a Hebdo cartoon that made fun of earthquake victims would, indeed, offend me. The thought of it offends me as I’m writing this answer, and I haven’t seen any issue of Hebdo, ever. (Again, I will very likely never subscribe.)
But no one was ever actually harmed by being offended. They’re simply offended.
People get to offend me. I don’t have to like it, and I can say it’s in extremely poor taste, and I will never subscribe, and I do say all of those things.
But I still don’t get to decide that if something offends me, it’s gone too far for everyone.
I only get to say it’s gone to far for me.
babble 