Firstly I didn’t condemn MLB’s action in my earlier comments. I was addressing myself to conservatives who think Guillen got what he deserved but who have that reaction without thinking through all the consequences involved.

But now I’ll go ahead and condemn what MLB did. It is wrong. What Guillen said was stupid and disgusting but freedom of speech trumps our aversion to stupid and disgusting.

Life is full of consequences but that doesn’t make them right or even legal. Huge corporations are essentially forcing Americans to toe the line or else. That is not right and I suspect that eventually the courts will be called upon to better define what employers can and can’t do in this regard.

I doubt seriously that Guillen had a clause in his contract that forbid him from praising evil former dictators, therefore I assume MLB is relying on some type of blanket “don’t bring disrepute on the game” wording. The problem here, the slippery slope, is defining what constitutes (per my example) “disrepute”.

What if he had said “I just love Sarah Palin because blah blah blah” ? Or “I can’t stand Mitt Romney”? Or “Barack Obama’s head looks like a cab with its doors open”?

When high profile types like entertainers etc can be brought to heel it will be only a matter of time before the same tactics are used on the rest of us. In fact the process has already begun.

Freedom of speech is above MLB’s pay level.

Frankly Dave, I don’t need a First Amendment primer from you or anyone else. If during a calm moment you happen to re-read my comments you will see that I never suggested, claimed, or declared, that the Marlins/MLB didn’t have the legal “right” to suspend Guillen.

Having the “right” to do something doesn’t make it right. Many things we have the “right” to do are harmful and stupid actions.

Al Sharpton has the “right” to be a race pimp and go to Sanford and foment and exploit preexisting anger and frustration. His right doesn’t make it right or helpful.

While I agree that everyone should think twice and speak once, I’m amused and bemused by your final paragraph. On a forum where people exchange ideas by the hundreds everyday, why are you warning against the expression of opinions? I mush prefer the free expression of ideas knowing that a lot of them will be useless, stupid, hurtful etc, to a culture where everyone tip-toes around talking about the weather for fear of giving offense and losing their job.

Your excessive concern that someone might say something that offends someone else is precisely what concerns me about the Word/Speech/Thought Police. When I was a kid my mother taught me that sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me. As a society we have been moved away from that common sense approach until now everyone seems to be on the lookout constantly for something to be offended by.

Bottom line, every time someone is forced to shut up because they expressed a personal opinion that offended someone, just makes it that much easier for you to be similarly forced to shut up or risk losing your job or worse.