Defending the First Amendment…For Everyone

IMUS: So, I watched the basketball game last night between — a little bit of Rutgers and Tennessee, the women’s final.

ROSENBERG: Yeah, Tennessee won last night — seventh championship for [Tennessee coach] Pat Summitt, I-Man. They beat Rutgers by 13 points.

IMUS: That’s some rough girls from Rutgers. Man, they got tattoos and —

McGUIRK: Some hard-core hos.

IMUS: That’s some nappy-headed hos there…

Within a week of these comments we Rutgers students flooded from buses toward a normally peaceful grassy knoll.   We stood in a massive semi-circle hoisting homemade signs in the air.  We raised our voices and pumped our fists in unison -protesting against racism and sexism.

A panel of speakers delivered impassioned speeches urging the student body to reject not only Imus’ statements, but all forms of racism and sexism in society.  Their words spread through the crowd like a strong breeze through a forest, lifting the heads and spirits of those that had been weighed down by Imus’ invective.

Tables lined the perimeter armed with the names, numbers, and addresses of the advertising companies that endorsed Imus.

We called.  We wrote.  We signed.  We made them accountable.

This controlled chaos, this organized moment of anarchy, was what I had waited for my entire college career.  Students, faculty, and administration of all genders, races, and ages joined together to fight this injustice.  Finally something mattered enough for us to shrug off the stereotypical apathy said to plague my generation – to gather together and make ourselves heard.

And heard we were.  Within the next week several of Imus’ advertising sponsors pulled their support from the on-air personality, fearing that too much of their core audience would link them to his deplorable remarks.  Following the televised protest he was suspended from the radio station, slapped with a lawsuit, and eventually forced to make an apology to the women’s basketball team.

During the months that this situation unfolded the words of passionate students, sympathetic editorials, and neutral news analysts flooded the Rutgers community. The First Amendment was under attack. Why was the government tolerating racist and sexist ideas?  Why couldn’t freedom of speech apply to just the “good” ideas?  Why couldn’t anyone just shut this guy up?

Let’s face it, the First Amendment is a dangerous and antagonistic concept.  It makes space for all ideas regardless of whether they are rooted in truth or falsehood.  Anyone with eyes, a mouth, or hands can announce their opinions to the world (much like this column) and very little recourse can be taken against them.  Or can it?  Despite the overwhelming desire to just shut a person up, it remains true that mere words – facts, information, debate – have more impact than a roll of duct tape ever will.

It is the protection of the right to express these ideas that improves the cultural conversation about the social politics of race, sex, religion, gender, tradition, and life.  So as frustrating and antagonistic and dangerous as it may seem, this amendment affords us the right to turn instances like the Imus debacle into teachable moments. Just as Imus was protected in expressing his prejudice, we were protected in rising up against it.

As a free and progressive society it is essential that we give all ideas, no matter how base or inflammatory, the opportunity to be expressed and challenged.  The amendment helps us question our core beliefs, search for our own definable truth, as well as dispel myths by seeking out the facts.  Unfortunately this process includes wading through the bigotry and prejudice of people like Don Imus.   Nevertheless you’ll also find that it provides you with rational thought, enlightenment, and intellect-based support for your thoughts.

The First Amendment may seem like a nuisance or a cheap soapbox for any “shock jock” looking for attention, but upon closer inspection you’ll see that it is so much more than that.  It’s a vehicle for enlightenment, a sound stage for justice, and often a creator of communities.