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| https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/christchurch-massacre-reminds-us-to-treasure-the-first-amendment |
50 innocent people were shot at Christchurch, New Zealand on Friday, March 15th. The gunman Facebook “Live Streamed” the massacre and posted it for the world to see. The response to this tragedy reminded us just how important the first amendment truly is.
Numerous social media sites such as Facebook and Youtube, has had the content censored and removed from public access.
Technically, the First Amendment and Promoting Tolerance is supposed to protect hate speech: “Somewhat counter-intuitive, the First Amendment protects hate speech because society learns valuable lessons from, including why it is hateful and worthy of condemnation. It’s how we spread norms about acceptable behavior.” This means that hate speech is protected by the first amendment making it “okay” for someone to post or say their honest opinions and feelings literally anywhere.
Some people are upset over the censorship over the gunman's video, claiming that by censoring it we are not allowing free speech or expression, while others, including myself, are happy that this video no longer exists on the internet due to its pure hatred and disgusting devastation that struck New Zealand.
So where do we draw the line. When do we say enough is enough?
Other Countries, such as China, are giving their own two sense into the matter at hand. They are saying that we should use this example as a way to censor our entire online presence but this will never happen.
You as an American citizen are protected by the First Amendment to be able to speak out about how you feel. However, in extreme cases, such as the tragedy in New Zealand, you will be censored and rightfully so by social media companies, the government, or law enforcement.
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