Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even when it’s offensive

Re:Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even... by whiddershins on Thursday June 25, 2020 @06:44AM (#23639100)

No. That’s logically flawed. We’ve seen this already, where this argument is being used to arbitrarily curtail all sorts of speech.

By this argument almost any idea you disagree with could be considered a threat, and honestly, it seems like it is human nature to sort of behave as if ideas that are ‘bad’ are a threat to my safety.

It takes effort to fight that impulse.

We need very narrow exceptions to free speech: specific incitements to violence seem to be one.

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Re:Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even... by svara on Thursday June 25, 2020 @07:13AM (#23639274)

Your argument is already assuming its conclusion, i.e. that all speech should be free. But then you also recognize that, no, actually, some kinds shouldn't be (i.e direct threats).

The point is: that line you're drawing is arbitrary. You can define it narrowly and precisely, and I think that's what you tried to do here, but at the end of the day you chose where to draw it.

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Re:Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even... by whiddershins on Thursday June 25, 2020 @07:29AM (#23639387)

I’m not sure. I hear what you’re saying, and I need to think about it.

It doesn’t feel arbitrary, but I might be fooling myself.

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