More on “Foreigner Crimes Secret File”
Posted by Matt Dioguardi on February 5th, 2007
[Joi Ito has a nice post on the Foreigner Crimes Secret File. I added the following comment there …]
Joi Ito’s post was a very thoughtful. Thanks.
I wanted to reply to Don Park’s comment:
“I don’t think the problem can be erased by suppressing freedom of speech which is what pressuring Family Mart to pull undesirables off the shelf amounts to IMHO.”
No one has an inherent obligation to shop at Family Mart. Saying that a boycott of Family Mart, as Japan Probe has recommended, amounts to suppression of free speech seems merely to play with the definition of free.
IMHO what Don Park’s comment amounts to saying is that people *should* shop at Family Mart so that they can support this magazines right to say what they want. But this is like saying people should be required to subsidize racist speech.
Indeed, if the racist magazine cannot find enough buyers, should the government step in to help finance the publisher?
Family Mart is *free* to continue to sell this magazine, if that is their choice. Likewise, people are *free* to not shop there, if that is their choice. People are also free to express their views on shopping at Family Mart.
Does Don Park wish to state otherwise?
Indeed, telling people they must shop there to sort of subsidize the sale of the magazine seems to limit people’s right to freely choose where they want to shop.
A boycott of a product or store should not in any way be compared to government censorship, something entirely different. I’m much more likely to support the former, than I am the latter.
Finally, if Don Part does not feel the magazine is as bad as it is purported to be, then I would like to hear why.