<story><title>Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even when it’s offensive</title><url>https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-06-19/protests-free-speech-first-amendment</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>bosswipe</author><text>There&amp;#x27;s a disconnect that keeps running through a lot of the arguments from the conservative side which I don&amp;#x27;t understand. The examples given in this piece are a) the right of street protesters to be heard without being attacked by government officers vs b) the right of people to not get fired for what they say by private organizations like the New York Times.&lt;p&gt;This disconnect keeps coming up, and it&amp;#x27;s extra weird because conservatives have traditionally been the bigger proponents of corporate freedom to fire whoever they want. But now many conservatives seem to want some kind of new labor protection laws.&lt;p&gt;Maybe what is going on is not really about free speech but more about quickly changing cultural norms. It used to be OK to make blatant racist and sexist jokes in an office setting but at some point that changed and now you can easily get fired over it. That&amp;#x27;s not a change in free speech restrictions, it&amp;#x27;s a change in what is considered culturally acceptable behavior between private actors. But changing cultural norms aren&amp;#x27;t something that should be somehow regulated by the government.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>belorn</author><text>The disconnect goes away if we see person opinions as something people are rather than something which people say.&lt;p&gt;This happens also to be a common thread in the disagreement between left and right. When something becomes a voluntary chosen action it can be controlled, limited and stopped by the government. When something is a personal trait it should be protected and given status as a right.&lt;p&gt;To take the example of a street protestor. Should companies be allowed to fire political activists? When we see it as a personal trait a lot of people find the answer as no. Should companies be allowed to fire people who choosed to say bad things? Many say yes. The issue becomes how people frame the question and what values get attached to it.</text></comment>
<story><title>Those who exercise free speech should also defend it even when it’s offensive</title><url>https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2020-06-19/protests-free-speech-first-amendment</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>bosswipe</author><text>There&amp;#x27;s a disconnect that keeps running through a lot of the arguments from the conservative side which I don&amp;#x27;t understand. The examples given in this piece are a) the right of street protesters to be heard without being attacked by government officers vs b) the right of people to not get fired for what they say by private organizations like the New York Times.&lt;p&gt;This disconnect keeps coming up, and it&amp;#x27;s extra weird because conservatives have traditionally been the bigger proponents of corporate freedom to fire whoever they want. But now many conservatives seem to want some kind of new labor protection laws.&lt;p&gt;Maybe what is going on is not really about free speech but more about quickly changing cultural norms. It used to be OK to make blatant racist and sexist jokes in an office setting but at some point that changed and now you can easily get fired over it. That&amp;#x27;s not a change in free speech restrictions, it&amp;#x27;s a change in what is considered culturally acceptable behavior between private actors. But changing cultural norms aren&amp;#x27;t something that should be somehow regulated by the government.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>nmfisher</author><text>True, but by the same token, there is a clear distinction between these two opinions:&lt;p&gt;1) I believe the government should outlaw firing people based on what they say in the office&lt;p&gt;2) I believe that companies should not fire people based on what they say in the office.&lt;p&gt;Believing in small government doesn&amp;#x27;t mean you have no opinion on cultural norms. It just means you don&amp;#x27;t think the government should enforce them.&lt;p&gt;But you&amp;#x27;re also right that many modern &amp;quot;conservatives&amp;quot; don&amp;#x27;t grasp the distinction.</text></comment>