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You say free speech… I kinda think you mean the other thing.
Defenders of “free speech” use that rhetoric to stifle the expression of marginalized people and prop up the hegemony.
On Monday, white nationalist provocateur Richard Spencer stood on a stage at the University of Florida, facing an audience of opponents jeering his message. Outside, police helicopters hovered overhead, and cops in riot gear corralled protesters and turned away ticket-holders for seemingly random reasons. Meanwhile another wall of police stood inside the auditorium, separating Spencer’s vocal critics from the supporters they outnumbered. This police presence came at the command of Florida Governor Rick Scott, who declared a state of emergency in advance of Spencer’s appearance.
Facing that crowd from his stage, Spencer raised his microphone and told the booing crowd that they were trying to stifle his right to free speech.
“Assaults on free speech” are a pet cause of advocates on both the left and the right. Too often, however, those concerns are misplaced — or worse, “free speech” is justification for stifling the voices of the…
