Some of You are Getting Free Speech Very Wrong

Never rely on Reddit or your Facebook friends for your understanding of the First Amendment

Tim Wise

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Image: FOTOGRIN, Shutterstock, standard license, purchased by author

Free speech doesn’t mean consequence-free speech.

Please write that down, will ya?

Like, maybe on your hand, on a Post-it-Note, on your Facebook wall, your Instagram bio, or perhaps a lovely forehead or neck tattoo? Just write it down somewhere.

Seriously.

Because it’s something about which a lot of y’all seem confused.

It’s sort of like the folks who saw a meme about HIPAA and decided a) memes are evidence, and b) HIPAA prohibits people from asking you about your vaccination status. Yeah, funny thing, it doesn’t.

But thanks for playing this round of “doing my own research.”

Better luck next time. You can pick up your parting gift at the FEMA camp after we microchip you with the mark of the beast.

When it comes to the First Amendment, many people seem to believe that it gives everyone the right to say whatever they want, whenever they want, without having to face pushback, scorn, or any form of sanction.

But such a reading of the Constitution suggests a Reddit-level understanding of the…

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Tim Wise
Tim Wise

Written by Tim Wise

Senior Fellow, African American Policy Forum, critical race theorist, and author of 9 books on racism and racial inequity in the U.S.

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