Freedom includes having the right to be wrong

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Roseanne Barr has made and continues to make incendiary remarks via public media. She has a knack for making people angry and fueling the anger of those already angry.

She often says things she should not say and regrets them later. Gee, I never do that. Do you?

Well, she put both feet in it with her latest tweet. Yeah, it was pretty bad. No, it was very bad.

It was not funny or even shocking. It was disgusting. All you have who have said or done something shocking or disgusting please raise your hands. Come one, be truthful!

Look, I completely disagree with Roseanne’s views. She goes off half-cocked all the time. She seems to believe in conspiracy theories that are wrong. She is a fool. But … and this is a big BUT, even though I disagree with her, I will defend her right to say what she thinks and feels. That is what freedom is about. We have the right to be wrong.

And I will tell you something else: What is wrong today has a way of being right tomorrow. No, I do not think what she said and done will be right tomorrow. The point is she has a right to be wrong and rave about things. In public and via social media. Just like you and I do. Like this letter you are reading does.

In China and Russia and many other non-free nations, one has no right to be wrong in the eyes of the state. Wrong-headed people end up dead or just disappear. And that is a lot worse than what Roseanne has to say. Think about it.

I think it is enough to just turn our backs to Roseanne and deny her an audience. Her faithful fellow crazies should also be given no audience.

As for me, I will give her the cut direct — no “Hi, Roseanne” or “How’z-it going”—when I see her around town. And definitely no “Aloha.” ‘Cause she shows no Aloha to others.

Thomas N. Beach is a resident of Waimea.