The discussion about regulating lawyer free speech, as opposed to lawyers getting a half-way decent grip on how scummy their marketing can be in their race to the bottom, incorporates the notion of shaming those who are the root of the problem as a better way of handling matters than creating new laws that will deter free speech for everyone because of the 99% who can’t act appropriately.

Ironically, Amy Alkon makes the same point in her post entitled, I See Rude People on Reason.TV, included here just because I love the inadvertent message in the title.

While shaming isn’t the answer for all things, particularly since the shameless, by definition, don’t give a damn whether you call them out or not, as long as they can get away with whatever it is they want to do, it’s certainly a better first step than crafting a law prohibiting everything from public farting to wearing ugly ties.

More to the point, it’s time that we consider a return to norms of behavior that take into account how our conduct impacts on everyone around us, not to mention the ultimate ramifications for ourselves.  Only when that doesn’t work, and the problem becomes insurmountable, should we consider criminalizing Ugly Ties in the First Degree.  Whether or not this should be a capital offense remains unclear.