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saffronhareThis was on a friend's FB and I wanted to remember how he phrased it:
"Free speech" does not mean "speech without consequences." It means "speech without getting arrested by the government unless it has a really damn good reason."
It's something that crops up over and over again: the right of somebody to say whatever they want on their own LJ. Sure. I'll give you an "amen, buddy" on that one. But the question of whether one should expect those words not to have any affect on the shape of one's interactions -- regardless of whether there's blame to be shared out -- is much stickier.
"Free speech" does not mean "speech without consequences." It means "speech without getting arrested by the government unless it has a really damn good reason."
It's something that crops up over and over again: the right of somebody to say whatever they want on their own LJ. Sure. I'll give you an "amen, buddy" on that one. But the question of whether one should expect those words not to have any affect on the shape of one's interactions -- regardless of whether there's blame to be shared out -- is much stickier.
