Free Speech And Why It Matters

by Andrew Doyle

With contemporary politics now dominated by issues of identity, it is sometimes difficult to detach the arguments for and against freedom of speech from the person who is making them. Too often, opinions are dismissed through various forms of ad hominem assessments. Some people believe that if hateful speech has a disproportionate impact on minority groups, then those with perceived ‘privilege’ are less entitled to opine on the subject. This is why a defence of free speech by a straight, white male is likely to be met with the objection that he is unqualified to apprehend the potential harm of words. But when the same arguments are advanced by a black lesbian, as they so often have been, there is nowhere left for the identity-fixated critic to retreat. Put simply, if you frame your counter-arguments in terms of the immutable characteristics of the person you oppose, you are setting yourself up for failure. At the same time, you obfuscate the actual issue in question.