A word that has taken on much more significance lately is conflation — the merging of two or more distinct sets of information, ideas, or texts into a single, often erroneous, whole. It acts as a cognitive error (fallacy) by treating separate concepts as identical, frequently used in arguments to blur lines between topics (according to Merriam-Webster).
It has become de rigueur to conflate wildly disparate ideas, particularly in political and social discourse.
One example many have heard of, and which may have led the state of Texas to force school districts to create library committees to choose what books to put on the shelves, is that removing certain books from elementary schools was censorship.
A second, similar version is connecting a call to have someone face consequences for what they say with the destruction of the First Amendment protection of free speech (although that many times depends on the political stance of the “victim”).
I’m sure by now that we all realize that I’m talking about the latest idiocy that spewed from the mouth and less-than-febrile mind of Jimmy Kimmel, who told Melania Trump that she had “the glow of an expectant widow” a day before an assassination attempt on President Trump.
(The same Jimmy Kimmel who was suspended by ABC for his tasteless joke about the assassination of Charlie Kirk.)
Both events were met with the same reaction: Fire him! And both events and subsequent outrage were met with the same response: How dare you abridge freedom of speech?
Just because there was outrage, though, doesn’t mean that there’s a movement to limit speech, so it’s disingenuous to drape the cloak of free speech around his vile rhetoric, particularly since he already said it. That bell cannot be unrung.
Same for the former senior vice president of regional markets for Aspirus Health. This gentlemen, Brian Kellar, responded to a post from a beer company that stated it sponsor a free beer day should some marksman actually manage to murder the president. That response was a picture of said VP wearing a T-shirt that was, shall we say, offering a very uncharitable statement about Trump.
Aspirus fired the gentleman, who had worked for the firm for 29 days.
This, of course, outraged said beer company, who claimed — can you guess? — that freedom was at stake, saying, “The day we’re not allowed to legally express our thoughts about what our government is doing to us is the day we no longer live in a free society. You may not like or agree with a single thing I say, but BY GOD, IF YOU’RE AN AMERICAN, YOU MUST STAND BY MY FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHT TO SAY IT (emphasis his)!
Should people be held accountable for their idiotic or uncouth statements? Absolutely, but not by a government. In each of these cases, and so many other similar events, it was a company that dealt the karma. The health company, worried about the future of the business, handled the matter with a firing.
In Kimmel’s case, when he was spouting his nonsense about Charlie Kirk, was suspended, then later unsuspended, by ABC, who also was concerned about the future of their company.
All the First Amendment does is guarantee your right to free speech. It was never intended to be a shield from negative consequences for comments unbecoming. Donald and Melania Trump had every right, because freedom of speech works for everyone, to say he should be fired. As long as the government does nothing to abridge speech because of it, then that’s it.
Between all of us, though, Kimmel has a history of ridiculous statements, and no one should be surprised by his shenanigans. As consumers of product, like insurance, health care or entertainment, we can walk away from unsavory items, and to me, that’s the best message to send.
Tony Farkas is editor of the San Jacinto News-Times and the Trinity County News-Standard. He can be reached at tony@polkcountypublishing.com.
