You should read this small diatribe from Ken White (aka PopeHat): In Defense Of Free Speech Pedantry. Yeah, it’s Substack, but the Internet’s in turmoil right now and sometimes even smart people make bad hosting decisions.
The important part is how he separates different kinds of discourse.
He splits the values discussion around free speech into 3 contexts:
- legal
- cultural
- decency
He’s not 100% correct: one of those things is not like the others. “decency” is a cultural value and should be subsumed under that rather than having its own category.
“legal” and “cultural” do need to be kept separate, though.
He’s right that we need to conscientiously (possibly even pedantically) identify when we’re talking about things that are (or should be) law and when we’re talking about things that are (or should be) cultural values.
It is, after all, the difference between jailing and shaming someone.
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