Recent Comments

1. 6 months ago on Ted Rall

   The right to free speech means that you have the right to state your opinion without punishment from the government unless your speech meets a very narrow definition of illegal (i.e., yelling “fire” in a crowded theater or inciting a mob to perform an illegal act like lynching or a treasonous rebellion against lawfully elected government officials). Protection from government prosecution of one’s “free speech” does not protect you from the right of other individuals to act on their dislike of your opinions. Family, friends, and neighbors have the right to shun you. Private employers can certainly fire you in your exercise of free speech interferes with your ability to do your job or the organization to reach its goals (i.e., maximizing profits or carrying out a service mission in the case of non-profits). A government employer has a higher standard than a private employer to meet before defining someone’s EXPRESSED personal opinions as a fireable offence, but if you are creating a hostile environment for co-workers and/or customers/clients/patients, etc., you most certainly have earned a reaction from people who have let you know that you’re not interested in hearing whatever you have to say. Of course, these permissible reactions to unwelcome free speech does not include illegal acts like physical violence—but I don’t remember hearing anyone on the left (a.k.a., the “woke”) defending assault and battery as desirable responses to conservative speech.