Free expression tunnel, sort of

Once again, students at NCSU have failed to realize the importance of free speech. Not that NC State holds the patent on student stupidity; surely, other students at university campuses around the country are engaged in the same freedom killing behavior as well. But at NC State, a particularly disturbing incident involving the Free Expression Tunnel has recently occurred. The Tunnel, which connects the two sides of campus bisected by railroad tracks and is open to graffiti, was recently adorned with some racist remarks directed toward Barack Obama. Certainly, it's disturbing to hear about racist morons spouting their racist vitriol (whether through graffiti or some other outlet) at a place of higher education, or any place for that matter. However, this is not the disturbing incident to which I make reference. Were the remarks stupid? Yes. Immature? Certainly. Cause for students to question the value of freedom of speech? No. Enter the really disturbing incident. In response to the graffiti, university officials had the racist remarks painted over in black, with which I have no problem. The graffiti is continuously changed or removed; however, this was followed by some idiot student who painted "Freedom of speech...but at what cost?" No, seriously, a college educated adult posed that question. Following that query-straight from the pages of 1984-a student in a radio interview stated that "I don't feel safe on campus anymore..." She went on to say that she felt this way because there were racists among us. No...seriously...that was the gist of her comment. First, the comments from the interview. Based on the student's comments, I'm led to the conclusion that within the NC State student body there are students that were/are unaware of the presence of racism. Really? Either this student was incredibly sheltered growing up, or she has been completely oblivious to everything ever. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying she shouldn't feel threatened by racist remarks, and I certainly believe that students should not have to live in a climate of fear when on campus-but she just figured out that there are unsavory characters on campus after the appearance of the graffiti? If that is the case, then I would say that she learned a valuable lesson from the idiots with the spray paint. That lesson being: sometimes people will hate you because of your race, or gender, or appearance, or nationality, or religion, etc. It's not right, it might hurt, we should work to stamp out hatred, but it is a reality. It's time to eschew your Pollyannaesque view on the world for a more mature stance. I hate to break it to you but you're in college now-time to grow up. Now for the particularly jaw-dropping comment questioning the freedom of speech. I have come to the conclusion that many Americans operate under the assumption that we as a people have the right to not be offended. This is perhaps one of the biggest threats facing our nation today. Why you ask? Because it is anathema to the idea of a free society. Trust me, I've read the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Declaration of Independence, and nowhere in those documents is the claim made that we have the right to not be offended. In fact, a case for the opposite could be made. The first amendment states (among other things) "Congress shall make no law...abridging the freedom of speech." Yet despite this clear indisputable language, we still have numbskulls pursuing college degrees that question the efficacy of this right on a free society. If this free speech questioning imbecile had been alive during the embryonic stages of our great country, I can just imagine he would have told Patrick Henry something along the lines of, "hey you shouldn't say that, you might offend the British." What a clown. Here's a newsflash for you nerd: inoffensive language does not require protection...offensive language requires protection because of idiots like you who think that no one should have to suffer harsh words or be subjected to opinions that might be different from your own. Finally, let me close by answering the question "freedom of speech...but at what cost?" At all cost.