Bill
Hicks On the Freedom of Speech
 In
May of 1993, deeply offended by its "blasphemous" content, a priest
wrote to Channel 4 and complained about the recent screening of "Revelations," a
recording of Bill Hicks's live show at London's Dominion Theatre some months
before (a show which, incidentally, can be seen in its entirety here).
Upon receiving said complaint, Channel 4 passed it on to Hicks himself. Hicks
then responded to the priest directly with the following letter. It doesn't disappoint.
8 June 1993
Dear Sir,
After reading your letter expressing your concerns regarding my special 'Revelations',
I felt duty-bound to respond to you myself in hopes of clarifying my position
on the points you brought up, and perhaps enlighten you as to who I really am.
Where I come from — America — there exists this wacky concept called
'freedom of speech', which many people feel is one of the paramount achievements
in mankind's mental development. I myself am a strong supporter of the 'Right
of freedom of speech', as I'm sure most people would be if they truly understood
the concept. 'Freedom of speech' means you support the right of people to say
exactly those ideas which you do not agree with. (Otherwise, you don't believe
in 'freedom of speech', but rather only those ideas which you believe to be acceptably
stated.) Seeing as how there are so many different beliefs in the world, and
as it would be virtually impossible for all of us to agree on any one belief,
you may begin to realize just how important an idea like 'freedom of speech'
really is. The idea basically states 'while I don't agree or care for what you
are saying, I do support your right to say it, for herein lies true freedom'.
You say you found my material 'offensive' and 'blasphemous'. I find it interesting
that you feel your beliefs are denigrated or threatened when I'd be willing to
bet you've never received a single letter complaining about your beliefs, or
asking why they are allowed to be. (If you have received such a letter, it definitely
did not come from me.) Furthermore, I imagine a quick perusal of an average week
of television programming would reveal many more shows of a religious nature,
than one of my shows — which are called 'specials' by virtue of the fact
that they are very rarely on.
All I'm doing in 'Revelations' is giving my point of view in my language based
on my experiences — much the same way religious broadcasters might organize
their programs. While I've found many of the religious shows I've viewed over
the years not to be to my liking, or in line with my own beliefs, I've never
considered it my place to exert any greater type of censorship than changing
the channel, or better yet — turning off the TV completely.
Now, for the part of your letter I found most disturbing.
In support of your position of outrage, you posit the hypothetical scenario regarding
the possibly 'angry' reaction of Muslims to material they might find similarly
offensive. Here is my question to you: Are you tacitly condoning the violent
terrorism of a handful of thugs to whom the idea of 'freedom of speech' and tolerance
is perhaps as foreign as Christ's message itself? If you are somehow implying
that their intolerance to contrary beliefs is justifiable, admirable, or perhaps
even preferable to one of acceptance and forgiveness, then I wonder what your
true beliefs really are.
If you had watched my entire show, you would have noticed in my summation of
my beliefs the fervent plea to the governments of the world to spend less money
on the machinery of war, and more on feeding, clothing, and educating the poor
and needy of the world ... A not-so-unchristian sentiment at that!
Ultimately, the message in my material is a call for understanding rather than
ignorance, peace rather than war, forgiveness rather than condemnation, and love
rather than fear. While this message may have understandably been lost on your
ears (due to my presentation), I assure you the thousands of people I played
to in my tours of the United Kingdom got it.
I hope I helped answer some of your questions. Also, I hope you consider this
an invitation to keep open the lines of communication. Please feel free to contact
me personally with comments, thoughts, or questions, if you so choose. If not,
I invite you to enjoy my two upcoming specials entitled 'Mohammed the TWIT' and
'Buddha, you fat PIG'. (JOKE)
Sincerely,
Bill Hicks
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