Freedom of speech… Every time a controversial topic reaches mainstream news, we can always count on a few things: awkward conversations with family, the media blowing it way out of proportion, and the inevitably infuriating Facebook war.
Usually in all of these, the term “freedom of speech” gets thrown around a lot. If someone gets offended, a go-to response seems to be, “well this is a free country so you can’t tell me what I should believe”. People who say this are not wrong, but they are ignoring half of the topic. Half of the idea of “freedom of speech” is that you can say what you want to say, but the other half is that everyone else can too. If someone offends you, they have the right to do so; they aren’t attacking your “freedom of speech”. Winston Churchill perfectly described this mindset when he said, “Some people’s idea of free speech is that they are free to say what they like, but if anyone says anything back, that is an outrage.”
People often also use their “freedom of speech” as a protective cover from the consequences of their opinions. However, what most people ignore is that this freedom comes with limitations. To name a few, hate speech and “fighting words” (those said with intent to start a fight) are not legally protected by freedom of speech. This means that any racist, sexist, or aggressive statements one may voice, are not legally covered. The racist thing that one person posted on Facebook about the race riots in Ferguson and Baltimore - they weren’t demonstrating their freedom of speech, just being a jerk. The Westboro Baptist Church - also being jerks. Your legal right to certain opinions does not protect you from the legal implications those opinions may have.
I’m not saying you have to agree with everyone just to avoid controversy. I’m simply saying that because everyone else has the same rights as you, an opposing opinion is not less valid simply because you do not agree with it. Voltaire said it best: “I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.”
So, technically, if you found this article offensive, you could sue me. There may not be much of a case, but your right to be offended is just as important as my right to write this article. The “freedom to be offended” is equally as crucial as the “freedom of speech”. This “freedom to be offended” means that we don’t all have to agree, or even pretend to agree. It is perfectly fine to be offended by someone’s opinion; being offended is a natural result of disagreement. But this can get out of hand quickly. There is a difference between being offended by a differing opinion and thinking the other opinion is invalid because it is different than yours. True freedom of speech can only exist when we respect each others’ ideas whether we agree with them or not.
Hopefully this will dispel some arguments next time that militantly racist / sexist / homophobic person you know tries to start a fight on Facebook.
