Quentin Tarantino to be Boycotted

[Berzerker]

Cops are no different than any other group. They have the same rights as everybody else in a free and open society. Treating them differently would be "arrogant".

They got badges and guns, of course we treat them differently in all sorts of ways.

So the following examples of boycotts by unions should not have been allowed?

Were those government unions? If so, they shouldn't be organizing boycotts against us. We are their employers and we have empowered them to act on our behalf. They're gonna boycott us? I dont see that power in any constitutions.

"The police" are not organizing a boycott. It is the members of the police union that are organizing it. What's the difference you ask? The difference is this action is not receiving the official sanction and blessing of the police department or the city/state government they are subordinate to. The organizers are not acting in an official capacity for this boycott.

So your point that this is the government attempting censorship through boycott is completely wrong and reeks of sensationalism.

They are government employees and their unions are organizing the boycott, is that in their job description? Can they show up at theaters in their uniforms with guns and badges to form picket lines? Would that make it "official"?

I also find it funny that a group of citizens is exercising their right to free speech and you want to cry "oppression!" simply because of the employment those citizens have chosen (and probably because you disagree with their cause).

They're using their status as government employees to call for a boycott to silence a critic... I care about our free speech, not government employees who are trying to shut people up for criticizing them.

And the "cause" is irrelevant to me, I was arguing against the boycott of Chick Filet and the politicians who were threatening to block expansion of the franchise into their districts. That too was government employees threatening to punish someone for expressing an opinion. I cant say I'm surprised, not too many people here took the side of Chick Filet either.

 

[Bugfatty300]

government unions

Law enforcement labor unions are not publicly funded, just like any other labor union. They don't answer to the public, they answer to paying members.

 

[Borachio]

A similar argument runs that playing rugby teaches boys to be violent, because they crash into and use force on each other on the pitch, so that carries over into general life. In fact, the opposite usually happens: being able to find an outlet for energy and physical competition on the pitch means that you don't feel the need to do it in situations where it's not expected or wanted. I suspect you could make a similar case for violence on screen.

You could indeed make a case for screen violence being cathartic.

But my point is that the evidence I've seen isn't convincing either way, i.e. whether it's cathartic or provocative. And that those claiming that it's anodyne are merely speculating as much as I am when I suggest it may be harmful, or more exactly, that it may not be harmless.

 

[Commodore]

They are government employees and their unions are organizing the boycott, is that in their job description?

Is organizing boycotts part of your job description? Seriously, this was not a good argument to make.

They're using their status as government employees to call for a boycott to silence a critic... I care about our free speech, not government employees who are trying to shut people up for criticizing them.

I'm sorry, but you are dead wrong on this. They are not using their status or position in any way to silence anyone. Last time I checked, they aren't forcing people to boycott Tarantino, they are just saying they personally will not be supporting his films.

Show me a statement from any police department or local/state government that expressly states they are officially supporting this boycott. Until then, you cannot say with any degree of intellectual honesty that this is a government-organized boycott of a private citizen. Until then, this is just a group of citizens exercising their right to free speech. And if their boycott is successful and Tarantino is silenced, then so be it. His right to free speech still would not have been violated in any way. Remember: you may have the right to free speech, but that does not mean you have the right to be heard.

I honestly cannot see why you are raising such a big stink over this aside from the fact that you simply disagree with the police union's stance on the matter. Somehow I get the feeling that if Tarantino had made statements supporting police brutality and the very same police union decided to organize a boycott against him for those comments, you wouldn't have any problem with that.