1ST AMENDMENT IS NOT FREEDOM FROM CONSEQUENCES.
Some of you are aware of the stunt pulled by comedian Kathy Griffin, who desperately needed to gain exposure for her declining comedy career, recently during a photo shoot.
Well, she certainly got exposure. But, it was not the kind to boost any lawful career.
Griffin created a gory scene by holding up a bloody head resembling that of President Donald Trump. Most news reports are calling this “controversial.” However, there is nothing controversial about her actions.
Holding up a bloodied, gory, decapitated image of the head of any human being is shockingly unacceptable to anyone with the exceptions of guerillas in South America, the Indian Mujahedeen, Al Qaeda operatives, and numerous violent Muslim extremist groups.
Not surprisingly, Americans across the political and legal spectrum have denounced her actions. Even the President’s most ardent critics shudder at the sight of her holding his severed head in her right hand as it is dripping in blood. She does have a handful of notable supporters; fellow comedian and current senator, Al Franken (D) – Minn., another comedian, Alec Baldwin, and the photographer himself.
Yet, our Founders knew that to protect us all from government censored speech, they had to protect people like Griffin.
While the 1st protects the freedom of speech, it does not provide for the freedom from consequences of speech.
Currently, Griffin is dealing with verbal abuse, loss of lucrative endorsements, being disinvited to speaking events, and even death threats. While death threats are illegal and certainly cross way over the line, most of the other consequences are expected.
Interestingly, she apologized for the “disturbing” photos, taken by photographer Tyler Shields.
“I beg for your forgiveness. I went too far,” she said in a video posted to Instagram last week. “I made a mistake and I was wrong.”
Had Griffin just ended there, the problem she created would have been just another example of a Hollywood actor doing something irresponsible and highly offensive in the political arena. She probably would have been “forgiven” by the public and her mistake would become last week’s news. She may have even revived her career.
But, she went further.
Instead of accepting the responsibility and consequences for her own actions, she blamed the negative experience on her gender and the President himself.
Griffin and Lisa Bloom, her “victim’s rights attorney”, believe the comedian has received harsher backlash because she is female.
“This is a woman thing,” Griffin, the “victim”, said.
In a news conference last week, Bloom accused the President and his family of “using their power to target her.”
Chiming in, Griffin stated, “If you don’t stand up, you get run over. What’s happening to me has never happened in this great country. A sitting president of the U.S. … is personally trying to ruin my life forever.”
“As a result of the first family bullying her, she has been vilified, getting death threats, fired from multiple jobs and had multiple events canceled,” Bloom said.
Bloom further defied logic by saying, “Kathy never imagined it could be misinterpreted as a threat of violence against Trump. That was never what she intended.”
Although Griffin tearfully apologized again during her press conference, she said that she will continue to use the President as material for her comedy routines.
“I’m going to make fun of him more now,” she said. Really?
Kathy Griffin provides a disturbing, but very important, example to all Americans. You can control anything you say, but you cannot control the consequences, good or bad, that follow your words.