SPEECH: Free for all

I am writing in regard to Our Lady of Disagreement. I am not a Catholic but I can’t help wondering:

1) If the statue was offensive to the Gay, African American or Muslim communities, if the Sherman Art Gallery would have displayed it in the front window?

2) If the local legislator would have been just as forceful to convince us that controversial artwork is a freedom of expression and a constitutional right?

3) If the Coeur d’Alene Press would have had articles encouraging the above mentioned communities to be more broad minded even if it is offensive, extremely hurtful and to many blasphemous?

From experience, I would guess that each of the above questions would be answered with a loud NO!

Could it be that there is a double standard here? Often we see that when an art form is mean, hateful and hurtful to the Christian community, it is called “freedom of expression and a constitutional right,” but if the art form is mean, hateful or hurtful to the Gay, African American and Muslim communities it is often called “hate speech” and rarely, if ever, would it be called, “freedom of expression and a constitutional right.” Nor would those communities be encouraged to be more broad minded.

True freedom of speech is not free where there is a double standard. Is that where we are heading or are we already there?

SHERRON RAMICH

Hayden