Just learned, through The Epoch Times, that actress Jacqueline Guzman was recently fired for complaining publicly about a large funeral procession in honor of slain New York City police officer Jason Rivera. The article quotes Guzman as saying, "We do not need to shut down most of Lower Manhattan because one cop died for probably doing his job incorrectly. They kill people who are under 22 every single day for no good reason[,] and we don’t shut down the city for them... What if somebody is having a heart attack in this area[?] Nobody can get to them because it’s all blocked off for one [expletive] cop."
While I find Guzman's opinion odious and ignorant of actual facts, I think firing her was a mistake. She should be free to speak her mind, not fearful of being canceled. I had the same stance regarding Kathy Griffin when Griffin pulled that "bloody Trump head in effigy" stunt—she, too was within her free-speech rights because no one would seriously believe that Griffin was stating an intent to kill the president (incitement is a more complex matter, but I'd still come down on the side of free speech given how so many people today want to use "incitement" as an excuse to close off discourse).
That said, Guzman's firing is another example of the left eating its own, even if in this case, Guzman's employer, Face to Face Films, was merely covering its ass.
Well, it's a fine line, I suppose. Guzman was indeed free to say what she said, however ignorant. Her employer was free to fire her as a consequence of her words. Not technically suppression of her free speech rights since the government was involved, but yeah, it has a similar impact if people feel compelled to stay silent. I'm in the camp of countering freely expressed ideas rather than canceling them. Just call her an ignorant bitch and move on.
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