Fan Profanity: Does it Affect the Reader - Essay Example

Before reading the article I had a concept that the fan profanity must be stopped somehow. I personally believed that it is vital to stop such abusive, insulting, and cursing words in the playfields. The use of these offensive terms, signs, and statements may create negative impacts on people about each other, their cultures, and religions. These profane expressions, slogans, and chants also disrupt the peace situation within the playgrounds. After reading this article, however, some of my thoughts altered.

The first question that may strike a reader’s mind is the truth about the first amendment. The article starts with a paragraph that criticizes the governments’ initiatives. The reader may find it awkward to find two contradictory ideas of the government. The question that arises is the area covered by the first amendment. Is the freedom to speak limited to certain topics, people, places, or things? Or does it form the basis of a complete freedom environment where people are able to express their thoughts in whatever way they want?

Of course, everybody has a right to speak and express in his own language, style, and manner. One may argue that in some circumstances it becomes necessary to ignore the first amendment and follow a realistic approach of prohibiting profanity in sports. However, this may be challenging for the government and lawmakers as people are indirectly exposing the law to be flawed. As the sensitivity of this issue is mentioned in the article as “courts strike down the regulations as violating the First Amendment freedom of speech”.

Passing regulation to prohibit profaning may also create a number of complex circumstances for the sports event management and courts to judge any slogan, statement, or sign as profane. A quotation used in the article: “one man’s vulgarity is another’s lyric,” may grab the attention of the reader. The reader might wait for a while and think over the meaning of this sentence. Does it mean vulgarity is acceptable for some people? Or does it mean in certain cultures vulgarity is honored?