free speech vs. privacy rights

Blockhead

What is the right of privacy?... Do I have the right to tell you/(take you to court) not to look at me while I out in public?
As far as the billboard goes, all he references is "if the mother would not have killed our child", there is no name, and it could have been any woman (one night stand, affair, etc) it does not say his GF or ex-GF. She made it public by saying who she was.

Prince Of Dorkness

Jeanwah wrote:

So, prince of dorkness, what should be done then?

I do see how assholes scream "free speech" to excuse their hateful behavior, but what really can be done here?

Well, he publicly humiliated her and accused her of a murder that didn't happen. I say she gets awarded with a mega settlement that will put him in the poor house for the rest of his otherwise useless life.

All this "we wouldn't have known it was her" crap is silly... anyone who knew the two of them knew it was her. And THAT is who he was telling. This doesn't affect you and me... but the people who work with her... live net door... know her socially... they knew when they saw the billboard that she had been sexually active with him and were told she'd had an abortion.

Prince Of Dorkness

mikepegg44 wrote:

but where do we draw the line?

He has no proof that an abortion even happened. She says she had a miscarriage. And he accused her of "killing" his baby.

I'm going to say that where ever we draw the line... this is passed it.

Blockhead

Prince Of Dorkness wrote:

mikepegg44 wrote:

but where do we draw the line?

He has no proof that an abortion even happened. She says she had a miscarriage. And he accused her of "killing" his baby.

I'm going to say that where ever we draw the line... this is passed it.

where do you get that he lied, its a he says she say, But this guy would have to be the stupidest person on the planet to go through all of this if he knew she had a miscarriage...

aerial

I think I would be upset if someone killed my baby…..who wouldn’t?

Jason P

aerial wrote:

I think I would be upset if someone killed my baby…..who wouldn’t?

There is no proof to back his accusation. The fact that he did this stunt, he comes off as a very insecure and spiteful person, probably full of suspicion and paranoia. Can you imagine breaking up with someone and then seeing a billboard implying something false about you without being able to give recourse?

And based on the way this guy acted, I think it's a great thing they never had kids before they split.

VINNY GOOMBA

The right to privacy is as declared in the fourth amendment, which prevents GOVERNMENT from intruding into your private life without cause:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

It does not apply to this matter here, as it is not the government who is intruding on her privacy. The same can be said of free speech, as well as free press-- which brings up another point about all of this: What about the PRESS blowing this story up, and effectively making everyone who half-pays attention to any media aware of this abortion / miscarriage situation? Now, not only is this a shitty turn of events for two people in some town / city somewhere, it has been made front page news all over. I do not know whether this was the request of one person in the conflict or the other, but it's an issue worth some thought if it made the news without their consent. I mean, the controversy of the billboard itself is such a huge issue-- what is a newspaper but a mass-distributed billboard in some ways? What about the billboard maker? Is he or she at fault? Does he or she not have the right to refuse to put something on his own billboard? Maybe that person is the one who should be held accountable, if there is any accountability to be had?

Overall, my weigh in on this one is-- the billboard is terrible, the guy is an asshole, I do not know whether it was an abortion or a miscarriage, and neither does anyone but this woman and / or potentially her doctor, and MAYBE the man involved. But, I do believe that if the billboard is on private property, it is at the discretion of the billboard owner what can cand can't go on the billboard, not the government's, barring any local laws pertaining to it. Even then, I do not feel that the 9th and 10th amendments give local governments rights to abridge free speech either, some feel that the restrictions in the Constitution apply only to the Federal Government, but not the states. If people don't like it, they should boycott the billboard company. On the other hand, if someone wants to capitalize on advertising space for this newly-famous billboard, they should offer the billboard guy double to advertise on that space effectively wiping this stupid billboard out. Again, the whole thing is terrible and unfortunate, but I stand behind speech and property rights 100% until it can be proven that such speech has caused physical damage to one's person or property. This happens too few and far between to make new laws abridging speech. Hurt feelings and emotions simply aren't enough, because if they were, everything would be illegal. If we want to progress as a society, we shouldn't impede the free flow of ideas, out of which great art, ideas, and innovation are born because a few people are jerk-offs or are capable of being completely distasteful, offensive, or hurtful with their WORDS OR IMAGES.

The beauty of private property is that it allows for the most amount of self-governance. On your land, and your property, you should be free to say what you want while simultaneously preventing others from perverting your free expression. On public property, nothing should be banned. Nothing should be endorsed or subsidized either.

For those that think the book should be thrown at this guy, your attention should be aimed towards the billboard company.

polaris_x

Jason P wrote:

aerial wrote:

I think I would be upset if someone killed my baby…..who wouldn’t?

There is no proof to back his accusation. The fact that he did this stunt, he comes off as a very insecure and spiteful person, probably full of suspicion and paranoia. Can you imagine breaking up with someone and then seeing a billboard implying something false about you without being able to give recourse?

And based on the way this guy acted, I think it's a great thing they never had kids before they split.

she clearly didn't read the article ... she saw a pro-lifer and supported him blindly ...

pjfan021

aerial wrote:

I think I would be upset if someone killed my baby…..who wouldn’t?

IF is a huge keyword, and secondly, a bilboard claiming she did so isn't going to do anybody any good. I don't know the guy, don't live in his state, but I can tell you he's a huge douche for doing this. Seems like he did this to piss her off/make her look bad, in which case it's pretty shitty of him. Just seems like a very immature and foolish thing to do...a bilboard? really?

Prince Of Dorkness

aerial wrote:

I think I would be upset if someone killed my baby…..who wouldn’t?

Nobody killed a baby.

She says she had a miscarriage. And even if she didn't... it wasn't a baby. Just a puddle of goo.

UpSideDown

VINNY GOOMBA wrote:

The right to privacy is as declared in the fourth amendment, which prevents GOVERNMENT from intruding into your private life without cause:

"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."

It does not apply to this matter here, as it is not the government who is intruding on her privacy. The same can be said of free speech, as well as free press.

Godfather.

Prince Of Dorkness wrote:

aerial wrote:

I think I would be upset if someone killed my baby…..who wouldn’t?

Nobody killed a baby.

She says she had a miscarriage. And even if she didn't... it wasn't a baby. Just a puddle of goo.

wahooo dude you might have opened up a whole can of worms with that one (puddle of goo) just my opinion but not a good choice of words my friend.

Godfather.

Godfather.

EmBleve wrote:

Godfather. wrote:

and she can call him Quick-n- Stubby the mullet boy.

Godfather.

or the Quick-n-Stubby inflamed hemorrhoid Mullethead.

ohhhh crap my cheeks hurt from laughing !!!

Godfather.

Cosmo

After seeing the picture of the guy on the billboard... I have reached the following conclusions:
A. I cannot believe a person that looks like this ever had sex... and...
B. Maybe the fetus knew this was its future dad and commited suicide by leaping from the womb.

Prince Of Dorkness

Godfather. wrote:

wahooo dude you might have opened up a whole can of worms with that one (puddle of goo) just my opinion but not a good choice of words my friend.

Godfather.

Call 'em as I see 'em.

Something the anti-choice people don't tell you is that 90% of babies that will have Down's Syndrome are aborted. Even the people who claim to be "pro-life."

Nobody believes that's a baby... they all just use this as a way to remind women of their place. Much like the votes against allowing any discrimination protections for gays and lesbians.

Cosmo

Prince Of Dorkness wrote:

Call 'em as I see 'em.

Something the anti-choice people don't tell you is that 90% of babies that will have Down's Syndrome are aborted. Even the people who claim to be "pro-life."

Nobody believes that's a baby... they all just use this as a way to remind women of their place. Much like the votes against allowing any discrimination protections for gays and lesbians.

...
Do the anti-abortion people oppose birth control in China, India or Africa? I mean, do they think it's a good thing that the Chinese Army grow to over 500 million... or that African kids are exposed to famine, starvation and death? I bet they must be all up in arms about the number of abortions that occur in China and India... right?

Jeanwah

Prince Of Dorkness wrote:

Godfather. wrote:

wahooo dude you might have opened up a whole can of worms with that one (puddle of goo) just my opinion but not a good choice of words my friend.

Godfather.

Call 'em as I see 'em.

Something the anti-choice people don't tell you is that 90% of babies that will have Down's Syndrome are aborted. Even the people who claim to be "pro-life."

Nobody believes that's a baby... they all just use this as a way to remind women of their place. Much like the votes against allowing any discrimination protections for gays and lesbians.

Dude, you better watch what you say about Down syndrome, I have a daughter with it and I'll pull my can of whop-ass out if you have anything bad to say about that. BUT, it's true, 90% are aborted, simply because of ignorance on the subject on behalf of both the parents AND the doctors not giving parents the FACTS needed to give. It's been found that more than usual, doctors rather than giving facts about DS, only give their opinions why they don't believe these babies should be saved. And yes, most doctors are anti "any sort of birth defect" being born.

And I'm pro-choice. It's not about pro-choice or pro-life in the case of DS. It's the case of knowing the facts about it and then deciding what to do. These babies are not worth aborting just because they may have Trisomy 21, but it's not for everyone, sadly. But we have that choice.