Jim Zumbo And First Amendment
March 7, 2007
I have read for the bazillionth time this morning how Jim Zumbo was a victim of having his First Amendment right to free speech violated. However you come down on the Zumbo affair, he DID NOT have his free speech right violated.
Zumbo is not in jail. He has not had his tongue cut out of his head. He is not being charged with any crime or being threatened by the government never to do it again. Zumbo exercised his right to free speech. The only problem is, under the venue he decided to do that, he was not the ultimate authority. He had to answer to those who paid his way. That’s life.
If you worked for Coca-Cola and went public to say that Pepsi tastes better, I seriously doubt you would have a job next day. Is that because you were not guaranteed free speech? No, it’s because speaking as a representative of Coca-Cola, you violated a trust. For that there are consequences.
So, please! You can be angry at the NRA, Outdoor Life or any of the others who opted to do what they did but Jim Zumbo is not a victim of free speech. He has every right afforded him still to this day to say his piece and he has elected to do so to some degree. I don’t believe anyone or any entity is prohibiting him to do that – although I would imagine some of you think he is.
From the perspective of those who took action against Jim Zumbo, it was a matter of responsibility. Whether what they did was the right action to take is debatable but the actions were their own.
Time to move on.
Tom Remington
Most Commented Posts
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
We feature the latest news, events and politics effecting the sports of hunting, fishing, and all outdoor activities in North America.
Phhhfffft.
Funny how the NRA is wrong to support one part of the constitution and the ACLU is good because another part of the constitution.
Amen to that, Tom!
I’ve sounded off the small bit that I had to say about the whole fiasco, but this is one aspect that seems to keep popping out of the fringes.
I hate to paraphrase certain pundits, but it’s true… Freedom of speech does NOT mean freedom from reaction. Sure, you can write/say what you want, but you have to be willing to bear the responsibility for your words, and if you piss off the masses you’re gonna have to deal with that.
Outdoor Life, NRA Publications, and Cabelas are all businesses and as such, have every right to do what they did. Right or wrong in the eyes of the masses, if they feel like a professional relationship damages their customer relations, then they will AND MUST sever that professional relationship. It’s just business. Let’s not make it political.
I do think this whole thing will have a chilling effect on some writers’ willingness to speak their opinions on certain loaded topics. On the big picture, that’s a shame. But, the wonderful thing about the Internet is that it can put power back into the hands of the public.
“But, the wonderful thing about the Internet is that it can put power back into the hands of the public.”
This is so true and if Zumbo had a mind, this would be a great opportunity to take up his own cause and go with it. He has a website, he has a readership. He could make his own blog and answer to no one except his readers.
[...] this morning, I posted a blog about Jim Zumbo and the fact that I could not see how he was infringed upon through his First [...]
I was going to say the exact same thing that Phillip did, but he got to it first and said it really well. So I’ll just go with “What he said!”
I do agree that what happened with Zumbo will have an effect on what some writers write, but I’m not necessarily sure that’s a bad thing. I know there are issues that I steer clear of on our company blog precisely because I think they’re too controversial. In those case, I think I’m doing something that Jim Zumbo forgot to do when he wrote his post. I’m recognizing that I’m writing as a representative of my company and my words will effect more than myself. Sometimes it is good to have a reminder that you need to think through all the ramifications of what you write and you have to be willing to accept the consequences.
Ahha! Thank you, Kristine! We all know that to be called RESPONSIBILITY!