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by mejin 3183 days ago
How about a society that has a law embedded into their Constitution stating that free speech is a right no matter who the president is?
3 comments

The 1st Amendment of the US Constitution says the government cannot make laws that prohibit free speech.

It doesn't say that members of civil society must tolerate any and all speech without consequence or pushback.

You are right, it doesn't say that. It does imply it, at least in my opinion. See, free expression should be a social ideal. Free speech should be something we strive to allow, even to facilitate.

And yes, yes that includes speech from hateful Nazis.

Please keep in mind that Nazis would absolutely harm me, if given the chance to do so. I'm quite distinctly not white.

But, the goal should be allowing even the deplorable to make use of their basic human rights. The Constitution says what the government cannot do. It should also serve as a baseline as to how we should model our society.

We should facilitate free speech, freedom of and from religion, security of our papers, innocence as the assumption, etc... Well, we should if we care about fostering a society where people can enjoy their liberties. Rights shouldn't just be allowed for those we approve of. If they are not allowed for everyone, they are privileges and not rights.

> The 1st Amendment of the US Constitution says the government cannot make laws that prohibit free speech. It doesn't say that members of civil society must tolerate any and all speech without consequence or pushback.

That's just shamelessly trying to get something in through the back door when it won't fit in through the front door. "Oh, the _government_ isn't oppressing you but they'll just look the other way while businesses and vigilantes do it to you instead. nudge, nudge, wink, wink"

And what will you do when the day comes that your political opponents come to power (elections haven't been that favorable to the left recently, in case you hadn't noticed) and find you've left them this nice, neat, and completely "legal" mechanism to wreck your lives?

I'm just telling you what rights the Constitution grants and what rights it doesn't.

The government's job is to enforce laws that are on the books. If someone commits a crime, whether they are a business or a vigilante group, they will be persecuted.

Attacking cops and breaking store windows are crimes.

Running over counter-protestors is a crime.

Firing people because of their religion or skin color is a crime.

Banning users for breaking your terms of service is NOT a crime. The reason is simple: no one owes you a platform from which you can express your opinions, regardless of what those opinions are.

This wasn't a free speech case.
What about it?