Free Speech for the Dumb

First off, who the hell cares what Harry Belafonte thinks or says? You may or may not agree with him. Personally, I do not agree. But he has the right to say what he believes, just as I do. What I find disturbing about this tempest in a teacup are the reactions of some people. Some of the reactions from here are simply nauseating. Let me be up front and say I am a white, male Christian and when making a choice at the polls between a Republican and Democrat, I generally choose Republican at the national level. If I had to choose a classification, I would pick libertarian. So I should be Fox's target audience.

"Harry Belafonte is an idiot, and should be deported." — Charlie (Newport Beach, CA)

"I think H. Bellefonte should be deported and have any U.S. citizenship revoked." — R.S.U.

"Belafonte should be ashamed of himself especially when the USA has been good to him, he is only digging himself deeper and deeper to the left, his US passport should be taken away from him." — Richard

So we are going to start deporting idiots? That will definitely cut down on traffic for my commutes.

Another "deportation" I had to single out…

"Harry Belafonte should be deported to his own country or better yet to Venezuelan where he can party with his buddy Hugo Chavez. The man is a disgrace. All the money and fame in the U.S. and treats the country like crap. Deport him, revoke his citizenship and no visa allowed." — George (Orlando, FL)

Belafonte was born in New York City (New York City!?!), so if we deported him to his own country, wouldn't that cause some kind of rip in the space-time continuum?

"Good job, Comrade Belafonte. You have always upheld the highest traditions of the Communist Party. After all, what has America ever given you? It's no wonder that millions of Americans are fleeing this rotten country to live in the socialist and communist paradises in North Korea, Cuba and Communist China. Good and faithful Comrade, your ticket is waiting." — Andy

This is great! See, this is how you should react to people when they spout socialist propaganda. Others in this vein…

"Mr. Belafonte should stick to writing and singing songs, and leave the politics for the nation's leaders." — Kelsie (Spring, TX)

"I think Harry Belafonte is a washed up, communist, bigoted, old man who wants the spotlight again. If he doesn’t like it here, by all means, go away!" — Fran

"I don't care. Most Americans don't really care and I can assure that Mr. Bush don't give Mr. Belafonte a second thought." — Richard (Washington, DC)

"Belafonte should take his act to Venezuela on a more permanent basis." — Ron

"Harry should move to Venezula, give up his US citizenship and learn how much of a democracy there is in Chavez-land." — Ron

"I don't give one darn 'Day-O' what Mr. Belafonte thinks. When he sings 'Me-wanna-go-home' -- he should, back to Venezuala!" — Matt (Kings Mountain, NC)

"Thanks, Harry! Now I have a reason to clean my shelf of all your albums. Oh wait, I don't have any and neither does 99% of America!" — Phil (Los Angeles, CA)

"Mr. Belafonte has the right to speak his opinion. MANY Americans have died so that he has that right. I think that if he believes Mr. Chavez and Venezuela are so great, he should really consider moving there. He would be much happier, I am sure." — Cathy

Then you have the people throwing around the "t" word: Treason. Speaking out against the government is not treason.

"Harry Belafonte is an idiot. I think he can be called a traitor!" — Bonnie

"This is outrageous! It borders on treason." — Bruce

"I feel he is a traitor! This country is at war. We need support and prayers. He is endangering our countrymen who are on the front lines." — Shirley (Mount Washington, KY)

I hear the ideas behind Shirley's comment quite a bit. That because we are at war, we should automatically support the president and the government. Should we support the troops and their families during war? Of course we should. Do our elected representatives get an automatic pass because we are at war? Hell, no. If you can't take the heat, get out of the kitchen. And are the Republicans who are saying this trying to convince me that if John Kerry were in office right now (and we were at war), they would shut up and support his decisions? Yeah, right. The radio waves would be overloaded with people complaining about everything he did.

"I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it."
--Voltaire