[tanseydavid]

> You can have a right of free speech and still not be allowed to yell "Fire!" in a crowded theatre.

I am truly surprised how frequently this old gem gets trotted out as if there might be someone who is unaware of it.

I am pretty sure most kids (at least where I grew up) get taught about this in 5th or 6th grade Civics or Social Studies classes.

And I bet some of them can even recall that it was Supreme Court justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who said it -- but probably just because that guy had a really cool name.

[kadoban]

If the person I was responding to is aware of it, then I don't know why they're assuming that free speech rights are absolute. It's not like I brought it up with no context.