Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis stated the following in Whitney vs. California:
“If there be time to expose through discussion, the falsehoods and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.”
The traditional view of this quote has been to simply allow everyone to say what they want to say. Everything goes. However, there is an implied counterpunch in this quote. It means that if someone says something ridiculous or offensive, then it is the responsibility of the vast majority of reasonable people to use free speech in great quantity and power against the ridiculous/offensive speech.
This is what we saw with the preacher Fred Phelps who protested at soldier funerals. The best answer and solution was massive counter protest. Phelps ultimately recanted his positions, partly as a result of persistent and personal counter-protest against his positions. I think that it was perfectly fine to overwhelm Phelps with free speech and use personal and social avenues to back him against the wall and make him change his mind. Don't make incendiary comments and take political positions against the system if you are not prepared to watch players in our very pragmatic and very successful democratic system challenge you back.
“If there be time to expose through discussion, the falsehoods and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence.”
The traditional view of this quote has been to simply allow everyone to say what they want to say. Everything goes. However, there is an implied counterpunch in this quote. It means that if someone says something ridiculous or offensive, then it is the responsibility of the vast majority of reasonable people to use free speech in great quantity and power against the ridiculous/offensive speech.
This is what we saw with the preacher Fred Phelps who protested at soldier funerals. The best answer and solution was massive counter protest. Phelps ultimately recanted his positions, partly as a result of persistent and personal counter-protest against his positions. I think that it was perfectly fine to overwhelm Phelps with free speech and use personal and social avenues to back him against the wall and make him change his mind. Don't make incendiary comments and take political positions against the system if you are not prepared to watch players in our very pragmatic and very successful democratic system challenge you back.
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