# Does the left really hate free speech? **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [April 19, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605 "2022-04-19T16:35:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![John.S.Mill](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/john.s.mill/32/9771_2.png) [@John.S.Mill](https://community.goactuary.com/u/John.S.Mill)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 4:35pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/1 "2022-04-19T16:35:05Z")
This seems to be thrown out a lot. But I think many on the left I know are in support of free speech and don’t like censorship. Maybe it’s because the ones calling for moderated speech are usually from the left, just like white nationalists are usually from the right, so it’s an easy talking point. But who honestly is against free speech and for censorship? ---
**Author:** ![NormalDan](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/normaldan/32/1013_2.png) [@NormalDan](https://community.goactuary.com/u/NormalDan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 4:38pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/2 "2022-04-19T16:38:26Z")
The Economist has had some articles on this, it’s pretty prevalent with Universities which are liberal bastions. [https://www.economist.com/britain/academic-freedom-in-british-universities-is-under-threat/21805537](https://www.economist.com/britain/academic-freedom-in-british-universities-is-under-threat/21805537) Or JK Rowling is a famous example. ---
**Author:** ![Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/vorian_atreides/32/65623_2.png) [@Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/u/Vorian_Atreides)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/3 "2022-04-19T17:24:34Z")
> [@John.S.Mill](#): > > free speech How are we defining this term? In the sense of what is protected by the US Constitution? Or the general idea of “I can say whatever the hell I want . . . cuz this is a Free Country”? ---
**Author:** ![John.S.Mill](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/john.s.mill/32/9771_2.png) [@John.S.Mill](https://community.goactuary.com/u/John.S.Mill)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 5:26pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/4 "2022-04-19T17:26:05Z")
The latter, for the most part. And yes I get that we don’t really have free speech yadi yada, but we should want to have it. ---
**Author:** ![Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/vorian_atreides/32/65623_2.png) [@Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/u/Vorian_Atreides)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 5:35pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/5 "2022-04-19T17:35:39Z")
I’ll start by saying that desire for courteous discourse \<\> opposing free speech; but the former does require some extensive restrictions on “what should be said”. I’ve seen both sides fling out extremely discourteous language, especially when addressing someone holding a position they vehemently oppose . . . and those seeking office as a means to sway people to NOT vote for their opponents. ---
**Author:** ![NerdAlert](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/nerdalert/32/683_2.png) [@NerdAlert](https://community.goactuary.com/u/NerdAlert)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 5:40pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/6 "2022-04-19T17:40:52Z")
And how does it look in practice, where a person can say whatever they want and face no repercussions? How does one legislate that without infringing on the actual constitutional definition of free speech? ---
**Author:** ![funkingded](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/funkingded/32/83398_2.png) [@funkingded](https://community.goactuary.com/u/funkingded)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 5:46pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/7 "2022-04-19T17:46:24Z")
[Why does the left hate free speech? Interesting question… – Freedom News](https://freedomnews.org.uk/2017/08/27/why-does-the-left-hate-free-speech-interesting-question/) [Research shows prejudice, not principle, ofte | EurekAlert!](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/822002) ---
**Author:** ![colonelsmoothie](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/colonelsmoothie/32/136_2.png) [@colonelsmoothie](https://community.goactuary.com/u/colonelsmoothie)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 5:53pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/8 "2022-04-19T17:53:15Z")
I feel like people in general are supportive of free speech as long as it’s whatever they agree with. ---
**Author:** ![colonelsmoothie](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/colonelsmoothie/32/136_2.png) [@colonelsmoothie](https://community.goactuary.com/u/colonelsmoothie)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/9 "2022-04-19T17:55:47Z")
I’m happy with what the constitution has. Yeah, I guess you can’t defame someone but you can totally say that they smell like an elephant’s butt which is fine with me. ---
**Author:** ![Maphistos\_Sidekick](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/maphistos_sidekick/32/84973_2.png) [@Maphistos\_Sidekick](https://community.goactuary.com/u/Maphistos_Sidekick)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 6:22pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/10 "2022-04-19T18:22:55Z")
The freedom of speech is a fragile thing. Propagation of quackery, junk science, conspiracy theories, etc. beg intervention to limit the societal harm caused by such. Unfortunately, such problems beg questions like: who gets to decide what’s quackery / junk science / a conspiracy theory? The ideal would be that “bad”/“harmful” speech can be countered with reason and good information. Unfortunately, I am increasingly skeptical of ordinary people being trusted to be reasonable and rational. ---
**Author:** ![DeepPurple](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/deeppurple/32/1551_2.png) [@DeepPurple](https://community.goactuary.com/u/DeepPurple)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 6:27pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/11 "2022-04-19T18:27:04Z")
> [@Maphistos\_Sidekick](#): > > Unfortunately, such problems beg questions like: who gets to decide what’s quackery / junk science / a conspiracy theory? I think we should, as a society, get better at defining “truth” from “truthiness”. They say that it is illegal to yell FIRE in a crowded theater when there is no fire. Isn’t yelling NO CLIMATE CHANGE when there is anthropomorphic climate change the same thing? ---
**Author:** ![NormalDan](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/normaldan/32/1013_2.png) [@NormalDan](https://community.goactuary.com/u/NormalDan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 6:28pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/12 "2022-04-19T18:28:32Z")
> [@DeepPurple](#): > > They say that it is illegal to yell FIRE in a crowded theater when there is no fire. Isn’t yelling NO CLIMATE CHANGE when there is anthropomorphic climate change the same thing? There’s very little immediate risk that you’re going to die from climate change, and the analogy you give probably demonstrates that there have been too many people doing the equivalent of yelling fire in a crowded movie theatre about climate change. Not to say it’s not a significant issue of our time to work through, but we’re not all going to drown. ---
**Author:** ![twig93](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/twig93/32/527_2.png) [@twig93](https://community.goactuary.com/u/twig93)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 6:33pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/13 "2022-04-19T18:33:59Z")
I think definitions matter. Certainly from a legal perspective the first amendment does not guarantee freedom from **all** consequences for making unpopular speech. So no free speech issues with Dr Laura being fired or various people being canceled. It guarantees freedom from **government** consequences. And I **think** British law is (now) similar to US law in that regard, although feel free to enlighten me on relevant differences. So I think calls for Dr. Stock to be fired are extremely worrisome. Sussex is a public university. Were it in the United States she would clearly be entitled to keep her job, and I suspect she is in Great Britain as well. And the whole concept of hate speech is worrisome to me. I think there’s a big distinction that needs to be drawn between speech intended to incite imminent violence (“kill the gays”) vs a statement that may very well hurt people’s feelings and be an insensitive/hurtful thing to say but is not a call to violence (“trans-women aren’t real women”). I also think it’s worth noting that in the particular case of Kathleen Stock, her language is more measured than “not real women”, but certainly there exist people who say things along those lines. And while I think it’s fair and well to judge people for the things they say, I think it would be unreasonable to define all hurtful speech as illegal hate speech. ---
**Author:** ![NormalDan](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/normaldan/32/1013_2.png) [@NormalDan](https://community.goactuary.com/u/NormalDan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 6:37pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/14 "2022-04-19T18:37:56Z")
> [@twig93](#): > > So I think calls for Dr. Stock to be fired are extremely worrisome. Sussex is a public university. Were it in the United States she would clearly be entitled to keep her job, and I suspect she is in Great Britain as well. > > And the whole concept of hate speech is worrisome to me. I think there’s a big distinction that needs to be drawn between speech intended to incite imminent violence (“kill the gays”) vs a statement that may very well hurt people’s feelings and be an insensitive/hurtful thing to say but is not a call to violence (“trans-women aren’t real women”). :iatp: I think it’s outrageous she was fired in such a manner, for such innocuous views… ---
**Author:** ![YankeeTripper](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/yankeetripper/32/946_2.png) [@YankeeTripper](https://community.goactuary.com/u/YankeeTripper)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:00pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/15 "2022-04-19T19:00:29Z")
The Left is all for Free Speech. Doesn’t mean they have to like what is said and impose consequences on the speaker. The Right sometimes like free speech but is a big fan of playing the victim when the consequences of what they say come home to roost. Of course they are also the first claim cancel culture sucks while simultaneously embracing cancel culture when folks opinions aren’t conservative enough for their liking. ---
**Author:** ![funkingded](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/funkingded/32/83398_2.png) [@funkingded](https://community.goactuary.com/u/funkingded)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/16 "2022-04-19T19:04:43Z")
yep. Currently governments in the US are using the government’s monopoly on violence to limit and control speech. I would think that should be the more worrying current events with regard to free speech. ---
**Author:** ![twig93](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/twig93/32/527_2.png) [@twig93](https://community.goactuary.com/u/twig93)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:08pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/17 "2022-04-19T19:08:52Z")
> [@YankeeTripper](#): > > The Left is all for Free Speech. Not the ones who demanded Kathleen Stock be fired. ---
**Author:** ![Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/vorian_atreides/32/65623_2.png) [@Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/u/Vorian_Atreides)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:19pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/18 "2022-04-19T19:19:26Z")
> [@colonelsmoothie](#): > > I’m happy with what the constitution has. The (original) purpose of the Constitution’s “freedom of speech” was to prevent the government from restricting the expression of views/ideas that are contrary to what the government is trying to do; including the criticism (whether or not justified) of that government. If one had issues around insults/defamation, they took it to the streets in the fashion of Burr/Hamilton. ---
**Author:** ![NormalDan](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/normaldan/32/1013_2.png) [@NormalDan](https://community.goactuary.com/u/NormalDan)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/19 "2022-04-19T19:22:20Z")
Make America Duel Again ---
**Author:** ![Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/user_avatar/community.goactuary.com/vorian_atreides/32/65623_2.png) [@Vorian\_Atreides](https://community.goactuary.com/u/Vorian_Atreides)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2022, 7:22pm UTC](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605/20 "2022-04-19T19:22:24Z")
> [@Maphistos\_Sidekick](#): > > I am increasingly skeptical of ordinary people being trusted to be reasonable and rational. I do not see any restrictions placed on social media sites around information related to the public good as being opposed to free speech, FWIW. [Next page](https://community.goactuary.com/t/does-the-left-really-hate-free-speech/5605.md?page=2)