General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The Limits of Free Speech [View all]thucythucy
(8,039 posts)I meant it as "what the hell does conferring power" have to do with this case?
I'm glad you endorse the Fourteenth Amendment and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Really, I am. Big sigh of relief. From your previous posts (for instance, stating that "only laws" can limit your freedom) this wasn't at all clear to me. As an "anarchist" you seemed to say that no law was justified in its conception or enforcement. Actually, I was beginning to wonder if you weren't some kind of Randian Libertarian.
I think the OP gets it exactly right in saying that "the more speech is the only response to bad speech" places an immense burden on people who are already oppressed. And clearly, as you now acknowledge, we don't apply this standard beyond government. That is to say, you yourself agree that an employer (and fellow employees, I would add) are entitled to stifle the obvious and hurtful ravings of a co-worker. In such a situation "more speech" is hardly the answer, but rather it is to act in ways that protect the rights of others to live and work free from racist harassment.
As for the OP, I think the best and only way to proceed on this is on a case by case basis. I think these students clearly violated more than the First Amendment, so I don't see this case leading to any great diminishing of anybody's freedoms. The other cases mentioned in the OP also can be addressed by means other than limiting First Amendment protections, with the possible exception of the Westboro Church (which can be seen as being as much about religious as free speech rights).
So in that way then I might disagree with the OP--I don't see these issues as "free speech" issues, as I've tried to make clear. It does, though, strike me as correct in drawing attention to the fact that in very many of these cases it is people who are already oppressed or in some way struggling (think of the mourners at a military funeral, confronted by the Westboro Bozos) who bear the burden of supporting all our "freedoms." Another good instance of this would be women's health providers, and women who need their services, having to endure picketers in their faces calling them "murderers" and such. Those in power on the other hand get the benefit of "free speech zones" being laid out, so they don't have to suffer in quite the same way.
Anyway, I am truly glad you can see yourself endorsing civil rights law. You really had me wondering.