Freedom of speech can be costly
There has been some comment in past weeks in our area papers about a young woman named Toni Smith, who is a senior basketball player at a small college in New York.
Smith has spent this season turning her back to the American flag during the National Anthem preceding her ball games. She is opposed to the American government's "priority of expanding its power rather than bettering the lives of all its people." This is her way of telling everyone.
By turning her back on the flag she is exercising her right to protest, her right to free speech. Okay, I'll buy that. She was born and raised in a free country and she has the right to express her thoughts no matter how repugnant they may be to anyone else.
As the season has progressed and her protest has gained notoriety, she has been booed from the stands, cursed on the court, and denigrated in print all over the country. She was accosted during a game by a Vietnam veteran who waved an American flag in her face while giving her a verbal thrashing. Opposing players have taunted her during the games. She has refused to back down.
And wouldn't you just know it — editorial columnists and opinion writers all over the country have jumped on this bandwagon with vigor. (You're right, I just can't resist adding my two cents in here.)
Some have said she should simply stand silently during the National Anthem. Others have lambasted her for representing her school in such a manner. They've said sportsmanship and team ethics should preclude her taking such a singular stand at a team event. And there are the usual "love it or leave it" arguments.
But here is the rub. There are writers who are incensed that she has been attacked for expressing her belief. They say it is her right as an American and everyone should just leave her alone. They insist that the rest of the world should back off and let her have her say. And this is the part that raises my hackles. P-u-l-l-lease! Spare me that poppycock!
Yup, she has a right. She is exercising that right. She made a choice to turn her back on the American flag and she has done so at every game. But guess what? Choices have repercussions. I certainly believe that she can express her opinion in any way that she chooses — as long as she is willing to accept the consequences of her own behavior. Being born to the privilege of free speech does not guarantee that the speaker will face no opposition. Freedom to express an opinion comes with a price. Just because one is free to express it, does not mean that there will never be consequences for doing so.
Those who are opposed to Ms. Smith's position also have the right to express their opinion of her behavior. Conversely, those in agreement have the right to support her. But to offer up the argument that she should be "left alone" to make her point is just absurd.
To Toni Smith's credit, I have not read or heard of her complaining about what has happened to her. It is the outside interests who have taken up the controversy and carried her protest beyond a Division III college into the wider world. She appears to have the presence of her own convictions. While I don't agree with her methods, I admire the fact that she is not the whiner here. She is not the one sniveling to be "left alone."
When we take a position, we must weigh the outcome. We may relinquish or gain something in the bargain, but we must all accept that we are fighting our own battles. If the end result is important enough, it is worth the torment we endure to make a stand.
Now, I am not foolish enough to think that any of those "major newspaper editorial writers" are reading the Peabody Gazette-Bulletin and thinking, "Egad, the woman is right!" But think about Toni Smith as you move through your lives. If you believe in it, endorse it, and are willing to fight for it, good for you. But expect some opposition and don't whine or cry "unfair" when you meet it. You picked your battle and you may win or lose, but you don't have the right to be "left alone," not even in this country. Have the presence of your convictions.
— SUSAN MARSHALL
