It is always nice when I get a chance to sit back and take a little time to read the newspaper. There is just something about holding that paper in your hands and hearing the rustling sound it makes, it gives you a different feeling than reading off of a computer screen. This experience always starts out pleasant until I actually read what the paper says, which somehow always has to be something seemingly appalling. For example, which will lead to the point of my ranting, The Fort Collins Coloradoan’s Saturday, November 13th paper. There are five headlines on front page these include as follows:

1) “Teen pleads innocent: 16-year old to get jury trial in death of girl killed by falling rock”

2) “Suspect in sexual assault is identified”

3) “Fort Collins Catches Cold” (this isn’t really appalling by any means)

4) “Plaza is making headway” (this isn’t appalling either)

5) “Colorado police investigate, protect pedophilia author” (this is where it starts to get to me)

Since I do not want to post the article , I will summarize it in brief bullet points, because if you care to read the article you can find it online for your own viewing pleasure.

• Phillip Ray Greaves II, self-published a book
• Topic of book: “offers advice to pedophiles on how to make a sexual encounter with a child as safe as possible”
• Greaves had been threatened on the Internet and police would watch his home for his safety
• Title of the book: “The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure: a Child-lover’s Code of Conduct”
• Greaves claims to have depression and “that he had sexual contact with children while still a child himself”
• Two important quotes from Greaves: he was asked about whether he had ever had sexual contact with a child as an adult, his first response was “could have,” but he changed it to “saying that he hadn’t” and the second quote by Greaves is “[t]he best advice I can give a pedophile is, accept masturbation as your best friend”

After reading this article and feeling slightly nauseous and appalled, I had several questions running through my head. Should freedom of speech be limited in some cases? Is it okay for someone to give advice to hurt a child, just like is it okay to have instructions on how to make a bomb? Where is the line drawn on except-able free speech, this blog is free speech, but do I write about how to hurt others? Should we limit free speech in this country when it involves such things as hurting others and how to do so “as safe as possible”?

At first thought I said YES, that freedom of speech should have its limitations, I do not believe in hate speech, which to me Greaves’s book falls under a similar category. Than I changed my mind and thought NO, freedom of speech should have no limitations in this country. I wouldn’t want my speech to be limited, just because someone did not like what I had to say. Now though, after getting all my thoughts down in writing, I have decided that YES, some things need to be limited, some things are not okay. Greaves has every right to think what he wants to think, because his private thoughts are not hurting anyone, but the second he puts in down where others can access it, this becomes wrong. I consider myself an open-minded person, excepting of others, but telling others or teaching others how to hurt people, children in this example, should not be allowed or except-able in this country.