Freedom of expression and its limitations
Your freedom ends, where mine starts. Any kind of freedom comes with its set of limits. These limitations are necessary to protect that freedom from being misused. But, at the same time, every person has a right, to have individual thoughts, on any and every subject. We all have a right to perception and interpretation. In the same way, we cannot use freedom of expression to disgrace another person or hurt his sentiments in absolutely any way. Our freedom of expression does not give us the liberty to damage others person right to dignity or individualism.
I believe that James Watson was wrong when he said that ‘black’ people were intellectually inferior to white people. First of all ‘black’ itself is a derogatory term. Secondly, a finding like this cannot be generalized. It can be true to a certain extent, in some situations, for a chosen few. But it cannot be an absolute truth, and there can never be a proof supporting this theory, which hold true for everybody.
However, if we look at ‘Fire’ as an example here, I think what the Hindu activists did was absolutely uncalled for. Fire was a movie about two women (characters) finding love and solace in each other. Lesbianism has been there for decades and was not an unheard topic. And Lesbians exist. Those characters represented a section of our society, which we very conveniently choose to ignore. The setting of the story also represented the real social conditions of the society. So, showing something that already exists, does not account to violation of any kind of freedom.
What we do not realize is freedom of expression and freedom to degrade somebody are two different things. I have a right to criticize something or somebody, but I don’t have any right to offend or degrade it.
We have to realize that we all have a right to be against something or someone, but we don’t have a right to take away their freedom of expression. Like happened in the case of
Taslima Nasreen case or even the movie ‘Fire’.
What we have to realize before exercising our right so vehemently, is that the concept of freedom has to be understood in its right spirit, and not the literal meaning.
EOM