Double Standard?

Since when did voicing your opinion (even though a harsh one) become a crime? For years people have been saying mean things to and about political officials. I won't name names, but a certain someone got on ABC during an awards show and proudly made "mean" statements against the President. Now, I'm not saying people don't have that right. There just seems to be a bit of a double standard in this case. A student sends an angry email to someone running for office and is fined, but anyone can say something about George W. Bush whenever and where every they want? Doesn't make much sense to me. I think free speech needs to be absolute. Let people say what they want, as long as they don't threaten to kill someone. I mean really, what harm can a few mean words really do?

Shelby Pieper

Copy Editor