You are confusing free speech and the First Amendment. The First Amendment protects free speech against the U.S. government, but governmental control is not the only aspect of free speech. Free speech is a larger issue.

Edit: if what you are saying were true, there wouldn't be any free speech issues in any country besides the United States.

Clearly that is not the case.

It sounds like you're saying that if there are any consequences for speech then it isn't free. This probably isn't what you really mean so please feel free to clarify your argument. I'd rather debate your real position than rip apart a strawman.

I said nothing of the sort.

What I said was free speech and the First Amendment aren't the same thing.

Are you claiming that they are? If you are, we can have a debate. If not, there's no issue here to debate.

You're correct that all you said was that free speech and the first amendment aren't the same thing. The statement that you replied to indicated that a response to your speech was not limiting your freedom of speech. I read your response as disagreeing with this statement as well as pointing out the difference between the first amendment and the broader concept of free speech. Did I misinterpret what you wrote?

Dude, you didn't "misinterpret" anything. You just made shit up.

I've found that conversations with people who do that kind of thing are almost never a productive use of my time.

Sorry.