Let’s talk about “free speech” that you mentioned. I’m not usually preachy like this, but this is important for people to hear. Freedom of speech is meant to protect people from legal persecution for expressing their opinions, beliefs, and feelings. It means the government can’t arrest you or prosecute you for voicing ideas, even when those ideas are critical of, or contradictory toward those of the state. It’s not freedom to be an ass to others. Threatening and/ or abusive speech can land a person in civil court, and though they may be reasonably protected from incarceration, they can still face reparations fines, dismissal from employment, and marks on their permanent record. In the future, please be more respectful of the phrase “free speech.” We are lucky to live in a time and place that affords us this protection when such a large part of the world lives without it. The more we devalue the idea by taking it for granted, such as warping the meaning of the phrase to suit our own agendas, the more room we allow for a future opportunity to lose it.
Ah, one of my favourite quotes of all time applies greatly to this:
“Freedom of speech does not protect you from the consequences of saying stupid shit.”- Jim C. Hines
