Edge-centric

The filmmaker who ate nothing but McDonald's meals for a month for his Oscar-nominated film "Super Size Me" gave what the Associated Press called "a profanity-laced, politically incorrect speech" at suburban Philadelphia's Hatboro-Horsham High School last week.

Spurlock joked about the intelligence of McDonald's employees, about "retarded kids in the back wearing helmets" ... The special education students in the back row were led by teachers out of the hourlong presentation. ( Read article.)

Hundreds of news outlets picked up the story -- and the subsequent one, in which he -- you guessed it -- apologized. Lot of that going around.

Initially he'd told reporters "he's never had a complaint after giving similar talks at other high schools and colleges." That's easy for him to say. Who's to know? His apology, it seems clear, was motivated by pressure more than any real change of heart.

The similarity to the Tara McAvoy fallout is found in the initial AP story:

Most of the 700 students laughed, gave him a standing ovation and mobbed him for autographs....

"The greatest lesson those kids learned today was the importance of free speech," Spurlock said.

Free speech is a good thing. It's also common shibboleth that rolls off the tongues of an awful lot of boorish reprobates, bullies who hide behind its high-toned meaning to cover up their own stunning lack of character.

I daresay this sophomoric stuff isn't what the Founding Father's had in mind. Nonetheless, I'm not advocating censorship. What I advocate is more free speech.

I think. Now, though, we get commentators who use words like "idiot" to castigate Spurlock for calling folks "retards."...