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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 law and an almost stunning unwillingness to go more than one page deep on a Google search.
Not to mention, it defies common sense.
I mean, try telling your boss to fuck off or your 10th grade English teacher and then hiding behind the Constitution when you get fired or suspended.
And by all means, let us know how that goes for you.
There have always been limits on free speech, among these:
- libel
- slander
- perjury
- fraud
- harassment, and
- calls for imminent violence or breach of the peace.
Although the courts have tended to give a pretty wide berth when it comes to interpreting some of those, these limits exist and circumscribe the boundaries of free expression.
