AJ's Headspace

dumbthingswhitepplsay:

The idea of free speech is that the government cannot touch you for voicing your opinions on things, no matter what they are.

But the fact is? They can.

If you yell “bomb” in a crowded airport, and there is no bomb? You are going to have a big fucking problem. If you yell “fire” in a crowded movie theatre and there is no fire? You are going to have a big problem. You are going to get arrested for causing a panic or whatever the fuck the specific crime is.

But when you say “nigger”, or “f****t” or “t*****y”, nothing happens to you. Even though those words from people who aren’t in those groups, and even sometimes from people who are, also cause panic, incite violence, and make people get hurt.

Free speech and its limits are basically just “don’t say anything that cis straight white people would actually have to worry about and fuck the rest of y’all.”

^^^Thank you for articulating *exactly* why I’m not all down for the “freedom of speech” argument.