The “Free Speech Activist” Lie

Jared L. Holt
Aug 22, 2017 · 2 min read
https://xkcd.com/1357/

So-called “free speech activists” are using the what they believe to be a constitutional shield to justify hateful rhetoric that prompts the kind of violence that killed Heather Heyer and injured many others at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, earlier this month.

These groups and many of their sympathizers will argue that the speech on display in Charlottesville was permissible under the First Amendment, but many spreading this line of logic are conflating a constitutional protection against government censorship with a guarantee of physical safety when advocating the systematic genocide of entire races of people.

These groups are absolutely permitted to gather in public without government interference, but the First Amendment does not protect these “activists” from any backlash their calls for hate crimes will provoke among the public. Many legitimate groups such as the ACLU advocated (and was later faulted) for the Alt-Right protesters’ right to assemble, but you won’t find those groups citing their First Amendment arguments to defend the protesters against the retaliation they faced in the streets.

Many who have emerged from the shadows in the last week to proclaim themselves “free speech activists” don’t care about free speech — they want the ability to spread ideals based in hate with the protection of government forces. Advocating for the extermination of others is violence, and these newfound “free speech” types want to spread their violence without fear of receiving a few punches.

As a journalist, I believe strongly in advancing the right to free speech under the First Amendment. But it’s important to realize that some in the public sphere who claim free speech to defend their message are not doing so out of public goodwill, but rather out of pure self interest.

We could stand to learn a few things from Europe, which chose to “reject and criminalize certain types of expression” after it saw hate speech, similar to what was on display in Charlottesville, contribute to a Nazi wave across the continent that killed millions. It’s important that we hold our current in-house extremists accountable for the hate they aim to provoke, and heed the warnings of our allies overseas before we are so quick to write off speech that so clearly aims to provoke hate-based violence.

The Influence

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Jared L. Holt

Written by

Political media researcher, reporter, tech junkie and whiskey snob based in Washington, D.C.

The Influence

We’re so over it, we’re under it.

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