The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #171198   Message #4140575
Posted By: Steve Shaw
28-Apr-22 - 08:14 PM
Thread Name: BS: The free-speech absolutist strikes
Subject: RE: BS: The free-speech absolutist strikes
It's not so black and white, Jeri. Free speech is a cherished concept, but there are a number of bottom lines. It's very hard to define them in a way that would not antagonise at least some people. They are all up for discussion, but they include hate speech, racist speech, anti-gay/transgender speech, religious bigotry speech (I may have missed some out). Every one of those categories has shades that we'll never get universal agreement about. Difficult to define is dead right. In my view we should adopt the principle of doing least harm to people, and accepting that with freedom comes responsibility. Untrammelled is a dirty word.