TRAVERSE CITY, Mich., April 2 - A Michigan appeals court struck down a 105-year-old law against using vulgar language in front of women and children, throwing out the conviction of a canoeist who let loose a stream of curses after falling into the water.

web page

Sometimes, gillyharold, when I see what some folks thing as worthy of pursuing through the law courts, it really boggles my mind. If I, personally had seen a fella falling into the lake or stream or whatever and he said a few @*!!++#*
words, I really would have found it rather humourous! I once, myself, got stuck, rather straddled, with one leg in the rowboat, and the other leg onshore, and the wee boat, being tied up at the front end, ranged out into the stream...and I couldn't stretch any further, and fell face first into the creek, with some passive canoeists paddling by...trying NOT to laugh at my plight. If I had let loose at that moment..well..I wouldn't expect them to take me to court! Of course, it's not NICE. NO. But it happens...don't I know.



[ 04-05-2002, 01:15 AM: Message edited by: lefois ]

This guy obviously just "lost it," that is he lost any self-control and started to scream profanities that would curl hair. The first few seconds of profanity is probably just a release response when the canoeist suffered extreme embarrasment for falling out of his boat and extreme relief that he survived drowning.
Anything after that indicates that he doesn't have much self-control.
What amazes me is that he was sentenced to a few days working in a child-care center.
This has absolutely nothing to do with freedom of speech.