Yelling "fire" in a crowded theatre is not merely legal, it's praiseworthy. [View all]
One of the standard platitudes trotted out to justify restrictions on free speech is that it should not be legal to yell "fire" in a crowded theatre.
But even a few seconds thought should lead to the conclusion that not merely is yelling "fire" at a crowded theatre legal, but not doing so may be actively culpable, *if the theatre is on fire*.
And, because of that, it also *has* to be legal to yell fire at a crowded theatre even if the theatre is *not* on fire, but you genuinely believe it is.
The only time in which yelling "fire" at a crowded theatre should be illegal is when the yeller believes that the theatre is not on fire.
Even if what you're saying is stupid and the consequences are potentially harmful, the "fire at a crowded theatre" analogue only helps justify censoring you if it can be shown that you *know* that what you are saying is wrong, rather than just stupidly believing it to be true.
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