People talk, and when they do, others either do nothing, talk, act, or both.
If I say, "your momma is fat," then as far as talking goes, you can exercise your right to free speech either by saying nothing or saying something (like, "yeah, well, your momma is ugly"), but talk is just talk--where tires simply meet, gather and converse on pavement. If you look in at the tweets, what you see is essentially limited to speech acts. That's great: say what you want to say, good, bad, or ugly and be thankful you live in a society where you may.
Others out there reading also have the same opportunity to exercise their right to talk. They can do that by keeping their mouths shut (or fingers still), but then again, like anyone else, they can spew about until their hearts are content; either way, that's of a nature limited to the exercise of free speech. More the merrier. Exercise your rights, baby. Say what you feel inside. Let it out honey. I'm fine with all that.
There are those, however, that go beyond (way beyond) simply talking. They act. It's their right; they can do that. If you don't like me calling you names and choose to 'vote with your feet' and no longer buy candy from me or those that like, support, or sponsor me, that's your prerogative, but it's a completely different situation where tires no longer meet the pavement. That's the exercise of a very different right. That's not truly speech...that's motivated action with intention. All well and fine, but not to be conflated and dressed in linguistic cosmetics.
These people willing to stop spending money with the sponsors are not just talkers but doers. They say (say) they believe in free speech, and they speak about their defense of it, but look at their actions that show a different glimpse of what's in their heart. They reveal what they hold inside by how they act. They SHOW you by what they DO. This is now beyond speech and also goes to explain why I have qualms with the flag burning issue. When you can feel the flames when up close and personal to what they're purportedly saying, I find the act more in line with physical action than I do verbiage and word play, but I digress.
If you truly wanted to encourage people to EXERCISE their right to speak (be what they say you like or not), then any actions that culminate as a backlash to actions, that's a horse of another color, but if you hear what a person says and respond not in kind but with action, then a more careful review of motive is in order.
It seems to me that pain, hurt, and suffering is what the liberal wants. If a TV host were to spew vile that you find inappropriate, you may want it to stop, and one thing to do is speak your mind, but if your logic, reason, and rationale doesn't ease the flow of public verbal filth, you might want to choose not words but actions TO shut them up. Some major financial pains might stop them from sucking eggs, so to speak.
Battle it out with words, but if that doesn't work, the greater the amount of suffering and pain the better, right? Destruction of any kind will do, but financial ruin is so tasty and lures many as a much better approach to shutting people up doesn't it? Oh but wait, is THAT what you seek? Do you do everything in your power through action (such as encouraging and engaging in boycotts) to see them suffer--just because they spew some vile in word form? Yeah, not exactly encouraging for people (with something to lose) to be so candid and open. By "you", I don't mean it literally.
If you (generically speaking) genuinely think for some ungodly reason that the companies sponsoring the show give a damn about some teen survivor, then by all means, say what you want, and say it in deliuded detail. Tell us how you feel inside. I (me) won't try to have you destroyed financially. I would NOT want you to feel like your entire life's cumulative wealth hangs in the balance. I might not like what you say, but just as a responsible gun owner would do, I'd keep my weapon of choice holstered. I believe in free speech, and so I'm not going to do everything in my power that fosters the possibility of shutting you up.
Spread your thoughts. What do you have to lose? But, people, smart people, who have managed to amass something worth protecting (and that's dollars, not people), they also have to be smart enough to hide what others can so freely share. Want to keep your job, better walk the line. Wanna keep your business afloat, watch what you say to who. In politics, lie your ass off to every extent possible just for a chance to survive--orange haired billionnares excluded of course. Wow, Trump is impressive!!!
