According to the latest iteration, his right-wing family said he was left-wing and even neighbors saw him with his roommate.

Freedom of speech is protected. That people are celebrating a man's death, and worse yet, justifying it, is evil but still protected. But what's not protected is the consequences of these actions. I don't want to live, work, etc... next to someone who thinks that it's ok to commit acts of violence against others just because we don't share the same views.

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ceejayoz 11 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> But what's not protected is the consequences of these actions.

But this is protected in this case.

I can unfriend you on Facebook for saying “I’m not sad he’s dead”. (And to be clear, Kimmel didn’t even go that far.) I can kick you out of my birthday party. I can complain to your employer. They can fire you. (They can fire you for having tattoos, or red hair!)

But the government cannot do these things. That is the entire point of the First Amendment. The FCC can not threaten the license of a broadcaster for protected speech, but we are here anyways.

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dylan604 11 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The FCC s/can/should/ not threaten the license of a broadcaster for protected speech, but we are here anyways.

They absolutely can do it as they've just shown. It's not like they are unable to do it. It's that they shouldn't do it. There's a big difference.

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throwacct 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

The entire point of the 1st Amendment is to protect the citizens from being thrown in jail or being prosecuted for speaking against the government.

Where do you see that here? The FCC chairman just said that "...broadcasters are entirely different than people that use other forms of communication. They have a license granted by is at the FCC, and that comes with it an obligation to operate in the public interest".

	▲	pseudalopex 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		> The entire point of the 1st Amendment is to protect the citizens from being thrown in jail or being prosecuted for speaking against the government. "[g]overnment officials cannot attempt to coerce private parties in order to punish or suppress views that the government disfavors"[1] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Rifle_Association_of_...

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rattlesnakedave 11 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

There is no First Amendment right to an FCC broadcast license.

	▲	ceejayoz 10 hours ago \| parent [-]
		There is a right not to have it taken away for speech reasons.

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vjjsejj 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> next to someone who thinks that it's ok to commit acts of violence against others just because we don't share the same views.

But that still only includes a subset of views?

I mean what you are saying is right. But these people were perfectly fine with ignoring or sometimes outright endorsing political violence until one of their own was the target. That does not seem extremely hypocritical?

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mindslight 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

To be fair, the new revanchist right calls actual conservatives "left wing". They call libertarians "left wing". They call the shared American values of the past fifty years "left wing". They call straightforward consensus reality "left wing". They basically call anyone who doesn't subscribe to the extended reactionary cinematic universe "left wing". So the only data point there is that his parents are suffering social media psychosis.

Also, non-normative sexual behavior is more indicative of being a Republican ("I have a wide stance!", etc, etc, etc). Democrats just espouse not beating yourself up over it, whereas Republicans seemingly yearn for the closet.