There went Bronson

People seem to have a hard time comprehending this whole "my right to free speech" deal.  It's not all that complicated, to be honest.

But for the information of Bronson Harmon, formerly destined to attend California Polytechnic State University on a wrestling scholarship, an American still has the right to say what he or she feels like saying.

Nothing, however, prevents consequences from occuring as a result of ill-chosen utterances.

Take this simple test: go into a tough neighborhood (you won't have trouble finding one) and find the burliest, meanest, sturdiest-looking person standing on the corner, and question their right to remain standing there, on the grounds of being a "big wuss."

He or she will forthwith drive you into the ground like a tent stake, but they will never question your right to have said what you said, for that  would constitute prior restraint, and the laws of our land prohibit that, as any street-corner scapegrace can tell you.

So out in Californ-eye-aye, young Bronson Harmon, late of Oakdale High and headed for Cal Poly, goes to a rally where people were protesting the president's zero-tolerance immigration policy.

He went with his father, but their plan was not to protest the policy, but, rather, to protest the protesters.  All of that is perfectly good. Right up until our man Bronson, brandishing a Trump sign from the 2016 election, flipped off a man named Abdul Lasaing and said,"(Expletive) you, (gay slur)."

And of course, because every single thing that every person does outside and inside their home and place of work is now on HD video, images of this got around to the college he planned to attend, and they said not so fast, son.

Cal Poly is not mentioning the specific reason for stripping Harmon, 18, of his athletic scholarship. They can't. Cal Poly Athletic Director, Don Oberhelman, told The Modesto Bee newspaper that the school saw the video, and "Harmon will not be a member of Cal Poly’s wrestling team(...) We cannot comment on any details regarding his status as a student because of federal and state privacy laws."

The corollary to the "everything you do is on tape" law is "Everything you do, you post to social media as soon as you can," and that's what Bronson did, only to complain of receiving death threats over it.

"I had a world peace sign and I'm not sure if he called me a (anti-gay slur) because of the sign or because of my darker skin color," said Lasaing, the victim of Bronson's rant, adding, "I could not say anything back since I felt like he would of (sic) jumped me."

Bronson now says that what he said to Lasaing was "definitely not the right thing," but also, guess what! he's a victim too!  

"I am supposed to be there to help the community be the best person I can be and represent the college the best way I can," Bronson said. "But I still feel like my freedom of speech was taken away, and I don’t think my scholarship should have been revoked over something like that.”

It's a good thing he got a wrestling scholarship, because he must have been a complete stranger to the Phi Beta Kappa selection board. It's on him that he lost the scholarship, but maybe someone can still teach him something.

Maybe.