Recently, a controversy broke out about liberal arts students, which attracted widespread attention and heated discussions among netizens. As Zhang Xuefeng's remarks on Weibo such as "liberal arts are all service industries" sparked dissatisfaction among a blogger, he did not hesitate to say that he would file a lawsuit against Zhang Xuefeng. In response to this incident, some lawyers argued that bloggers have the right to claim that their reputation is protected, but they need to be able to prove that their reputation has been damaged.
On December 9, Zhang Xuefeng posted an "apology" Weibo via Weibo, clarifying his previous remarks about liberal arts students. However, the incident sparked even greater controversy. According to Weibo blogger Gu Yanyou, Zhang Xuefeng's remarks were a blatant "degrading and provocation" to the entire group of liberal arts students, believing that such remarks had caused damage to the reputation of the liberal arts students, so he decided to file a lawsuit with the court. According to the blogger, he is currently collecting relevant evidence.
In response to the blogger's behavior of collecting evidence to prosecute Zhang Xuefeng, Red Star News interviewed some lawyers. Zhao Liangshan, a senior partner at Shaanxi Hengda Law Firm and a well-known public interest lawyer, said there was nothing wrong with the blogger filing a lawsuit on the grounds of insult, and he believed that the blogger exercised his legitimate rights and interests and that the court should accept the case. However, Hu Lei, a lawyer at Sichuan Dingqi Law Firm, put forward some different views on this. He believes that if a blogger wishes to resolve the case through judicial means, he needs to prove that his reputation or otherwise has been damaged. As a liberal arts student, lawyer Hu Lei also mentioned that Zhang Xuefeng's remarks were more out of consideration for the effect of the program, rather than for individual liberal arts students. Therefore, liberal arts students do not need to be overly sensitive or seated in the right seat.
The author believes that we might as well think about the blogger's desire to sue Zhang Xuefeng from two perspectives. First of all, as a public figure, Zhang Xuefeng's remarks should certainly be treated with caution. While expressing opinions, we should also try to avoid degrading and provoking specific groups. But at the same time, we should also realize that freedom of speech is an important right in modern society and one of the driving forces for social progress and reform. Therefore, in this case, we should also maintain a certain tolerance and understanding of the blogger's prosecution.
Secondly, we also need to recognize that for a professional writer, there should be a higher level of inclusiveness and tolerance. An article or a sentence should not cause much damage to his reputation, because a writer's artistic creation and expression are diverse, which will inevitably lead to different opinions and controversies. Therefore, when we evaluate a writer, we should not just use one sentence or one article as the only criterion, but should consider his overall performance.
Behind this incident, we should also reflect on the positioning of liberal arts students and society's perception of them. As a special group, liberal arts students are involved in a wide range of fields, including literature, history, philosophy, and so on. Their knowledge system and way of thinking are different from those of other groups, which is also an important contribution to the development and progress of society. Therefore, when evaluating liberal arts students, we should look at them from a broader perspective, rather than being swayed by individual remarks.
In short, this controversy over liberal arts students has sparked reflection and discussion about freedom of speech and liberal arts students. In the age of the Internet, the speed at which speech spreads makes it more necessary for us to remain calm and rational, and at the same time, we need to be more tolerant and tolerant of other people's speech. As a progressive society, we need to focus more on respect and understanding in order to build a more just and harmonious society.