nytimes.com— A team of women who represented the United States at the world bridge championships in Shanghai last month is facing sanctions, including a yearlong ban from competition, for a spur-of-the-moment protest.
Nov 14, 2007View in Crawl 4
“This isn’t a free-speech issue,” said Jan Martel, president of the United States Bridge Federation, the nonprofit group that selects teams for international tournaments. “There isn’t any question that private organizations can control the speech of people who represent them.”I wouldn't have it any other way. Why the uproar? It's a private organization for crying out loud!
Actually that is the way things work. In the US, all rights are retained by the people unless abridged by law. A very simple example is parking regulations. Signs tell you when you cannot part, they don't tell you when you can park. If something isn't prohibited, then you can do it until someone tells you that you can't. In the interest of fairness, if there isn't a bylaw prohibiting political speech, then what have these people done wrong to warrant the rather severe punishment that they received? You raise questions that you have no hope of answering such as what is the official political position of the bridge organization. How was that position reached? Was there a poll or was it simply the feelings of the senior staff? Since people at all levels change their minds, how often is the official position revised?
Robbies and others of his ilk do not understand American values. Let's see these women were representing the United States. One of our most precious ideas is free expression. So of course the Robbies of this world along with the decision-makers at the bridge federation want to ban them. It's just more evidence of the miserable job our public and private schools are doing in educating our citizens about what American government and citizenship is all about. Of course no American, bridge player or anyone else, can support companies or the bridge federation so long as the people who now run it remain in their positions of trust. They betray all of us.
revjonathanNov 15, 2007
“This isn’t a free-speech issue,” said Jan Martel, president of the United States Bridge Federation, the nonprofit group that selects teams for international tournaments. “There isn’t any question that private organizations can control the speech of people who represent them.”I wouldn't have it any other way. Why the uproar? It's a private organization for crying out loud!
archiesteelNov 15, 2007
Reagan *was* a prick. And one of the Roosevelts was a Democrat.
jaxcsNov 15, 2007
Actually that is the way things work. In the US, all rights are retained by the people unless abridged by law. A very simple example is parking regulations. Signs tell you when you cannot part, they don't tell you when you can park. If something isn't prohibited, then you can do it until someone tells you that you can't. In the interest of fairness, if there isn't a bylaw prohibiting political speech, then what have these people done wrong to warrant the rather severe punishment that they received? You raise questions that you have no hope of answering such as what is the official political position of the bridge organization. How was that position reached? Was there a poll or was it simply the feelings of the senior staff? Since people at all levels change their minds, how often is the official position revised?
maurystreetNov 21, 2007
Robbies and others of his ilk do not understand American values. Let's see these women were representing the United States. One of our most precious ideas is free expression. So of course the Robbies of this world along with the decision-makers at the bridge federation want to ban them. It's just more evidence of the miserable job our public and private schools are doing in educating our citizens about what American government and citizenship is all about. Of course no American, bridge player or anyone else, can support companies or the bridge federation so long as the people who now run it remain in their positions of trust. They betray all of us.
tonylocneNov 29, 2007
and this coming from a person with their screenname "bodhinature"?????? doesn't make much sense