Letter to the Editor: Free for All comment inappropriate

Clint---I agree, and am also offended by the Free For All comment. Certainly, in our society, we are guaranteed freedom of speech---but just because we are free to say a thing, does not mean that it is right or wise to say that thing (as recent events make clear---coughDonImuscough).

This was a poor judgment on the Kansan's part---and I suspect would not have appeared in the paper if the targeted group were Jews, Muslims, homosexuals, or an ethnic minority.

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• Posted by crono2 on April 13, 2007 at 8:12 a.m.
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Letter to the Editor: Free for All comment inappropriate

How do you slander a character from history that may or may not have existed? Boo hoo- get over it. Christians have been the majority for far too long. Who cares what somebody says about Jesus. If you don't like it than don't read it.

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• Posted by cycleust on April 13, 2007 at 10:34 a.m.
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Letter to the Editor: Free for All comment inappropriate

Just because Christians have made unsavory comments about others doesn't make it okay to go back and do the same to them. Also, it bugs me that certain individuals on this message board promote toleration while being intolerant of Christian viewpoint, regardless of what they chose to believe in.

Although I agree there may be a little bit of an overreaction to this, Free for All continues to be a problematic area of the paper. I can't remember how many times I've seen apologies or editorials about something that ran in it. The Kansas would be wise to do away with it entirely. It takes away from the credibility of the paper itself.

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• Posted by snood on April 13, 2007 at 2:14 p.m.
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Letter to the Editor: Free for All comment inappropriate

I understand why you might find the comment distasteful, Clint, but what about it is slanderous or obscene? Slander requires some element of defamation and malicious intent. Is that present here? Probably not, because the allegedly offended party--Jesus--is not here to claim malice or suffering.

I disagree especially with your claim that this printing is an "act of intolerance" on our part against you all. To suggest that the Kansan somehow edits Free for All comments to poke fun at certain groups is ludicrous. They don't care what you believe, and they certainly don't care what this idiotic FFA caller believes. The FFA space is a forum for students to express virtually anything, mostly without censorship. All you've done here is call more attention to a stupid comment that would have gone ignored were it not for people that are offended by inane comments.

And Linguo is right: Before I complain about any potential slander to this country's predominant religion, I'd look carefully at comments made by modern Christian leaders about other segments of society, namely feminists, homosexuals, and Muslims. I bet even Jesus dislikes hypocrisy.

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• Posted by TigerHawk on April 13, 2007 at 12:15 p.m.
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Letter to the Editor: Free for All comment inappropriate

i agree with Dr. Springer. Such obviously distasteful comments shouldn't be printed. Would a similar comment about blacks, jews, arabs, or other groups be tolerated?

and linguo, jesus is not a fictitious character. Josephus makes a reference to him. (Josephus being a first century prominent Jew by the way)

From the Antiquities 18: 63-64

About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed one ought to call him a man. For he was one who wrought surprising feats and as a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. He was the Messiah. When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvellous things about him. And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.

Also, major ancient Roman writers such as Tacitus, Suetonius and Pliny the Younger reference.

It is obviously your choice to accept Jesus as divine or not. But on the other hand, calling him a fictitious character is just shallow and ignorant.

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• Posted by jcneedham on April 13, 2007 at 10:48 p.m.
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Letter to the Editor: Free for All comment inappropriate

tigerhawk is mounting his best effort to make the pretense that the kansan is impartial to different cultural groups, but in reality, he is lying. two or three years ago this comment was printed in ffa, "i am walking into the kansas union and it smells like fried chicken and watermelon in here." on the particular day of this call, the black student union was holding a function in the kansas student union, and this caller was implying that the black students that were gathered in the union had such a lack of social sophistication, that the sight of these students impromted the caller to metaphorically conjure up the smell of fried chicken and watermelon. this comment was obviously a derogatory statement about the black students on campus. it was immature and innapropriate and never should have been printed. there was an outcry to the kansan about the printing of such a ridiculous statement and the kansas immediately made an apology, changed the editor of ffa, and promised to have two other staffers edit ffa. in respect to the caller who made the comment about Jesus being an attention whore, this caller's comments were also immature and innapropriate, and should not have been published. just one week ago the kansan printed a cover story promoting a group that mocked Christianity on Easter weekend. that story never should have been printed. it is obvious that the kansan has a biased social adgenda that it ungraciously propogates upon the student body whether we like it or not. it is annoying and irritating. the staff, save for an exceptional few, seems to be composed of a gaggle of complete dullards who are unable to distinguish what is interesting and insightful biased writing, and what is dogmatic uninspired tripe that serves no other purpose than to annoy. it would be interesting to call up ffa and say, "Martin Luther King Jr. just got assasinated while trying to improve the lives of black people everywhere, what an attention whore", or "Patrick Tilman went to Afghanistan just to get shot by his own country, what an attention whore." neither of these two statements would ever be published in ffa. yet, both are no more innapropriate that the statement made about Jesus.

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• Posted by todd1007 on April 14, 2007 at 1:03 p.m.
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Letter to the Editor: Free for All comment inappropriate

Calling Jesus an "attention whore" with the intent of humor is not slander, it's not even particularly anti-Christian. Is it unintelligent, probably, but nothing worthy of noting this heavily. I understand if you feel that you are being persecuted, but Christians are still the majority in this country and for the purpose of a few laughs calling "The Messiah" an "attention whore" is not all that off base.

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• Posted by empirelucas on April 14, 2007 at 2:36 p.m.
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Letter to the Editor: Free for All comment inappropriate

it would be appreciated if there was a recognition that the statement about Jesus was innapropriate. those who choose to keep defending its publication are continuing to prove how stubborn and cantankerous people from the midwest are. not to mention just socially retarded.

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• Posted by todd1007 on April 14, 2007 at 3:47 p.m.
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Letter to the Editor: Free for All comment inappropriate

OH NOEZ

WE HAVE OFFENDED CHRISTIANS, AND DISCRIMINATED AGAINST.... wait, the vast majority.

Get over it.

People make jokes all the time.

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• Posted by llama726 on April 15, 2007 at 3:07 a.m.
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