this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2025
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Free Speech is the right to have and express opinions without being repressed by the government. Yelling fire in a theatre is not an opinion any more than harassing people with racial slurs or other forms of flatulence.
Nobody is giving free speech to fascists. Ignorant assholes are misappropriating the term to justify their disgusting behaviour and they're the only one's falling for it.
The (direct) harm principle of free speech has been a standard recognized since at least J S Mill. It's reflected in legal limitations on incitement of imminent lawless action (falsely shouting fire); incitement of violence; defamation; discriminatory acts that objectively deprive peaceful access to rights, opportunities, or resources we are entitled to. It does not restrict merely offensive conduct that bothers.
Are you referring to harassment in the looser sense of merely irritating conduct or in the stricter sense of personally targeted conduct that is unwelcome & objectively harms or deprives peaceful access as mentioned before (often through persistence)? We don't have a right not to be offended.
Freedom of speech is specifically for speech we dislike including much that you listed. It's also for speech to oppose that, which could be taken much further instead of trying to compromise it.