In Defence of Offensiveness

In Defense of Offensiveness

It is amazing how much people hate free speech. They are totally against it. Why? The answer is obvious: they hate the truth. And why do they hate the truth? Because truth implies criticism—of them. Someone might tell the truth about them and they don’t want that. Why don’t they want it? Because they have done bad things and they don’t want to be exposed. They hate free speech because they are unethical. There is no mystery here. People conflate threats with free speech because they feel threatened by free speech—rightly so. The truth is threatening if you are on the wrong side of it. If you have done bad things, you will want to keep this under wraps; but free speech threatens to expose the wrongdoing. So, people are against it—no matter what they might say. This is why free speech is so important, especially in politics. People in power hate free speech the most, because it threatens their power. Free speech is the freedom to tell the truth—and that is terrifying if you are guilty of crimes and corruption. That is why it is so important to insist on it. I would go further: offensive speech must be not only allowed but encouraged. People should engage in it frequently, just to keep the wheels oiled. It is the foundation of democracy—offensive speech—as offensive as possible. You should practice it in your living room. It’s a skill you may need. Because critical speech is in its nature offensive—it offends the individual criticized. Especially if the criticism is of a moral nature: calling someone immoral or unethical is offensive—no one wants that. And the language you use may be, shall we say, colorful. Calling someone a liar is perfectly within bounds, if that’s what they are; calling them a fucking liar is also permissible. The speech needs to be offensive if it is to serve its purpose—to discourage evil. There is no nice way to say that someone is a bully, a liar, and a fool. Offensive speech is good—so long as it is justified. The US Constitution should have a clause saying “Offensive speech should never by punishable by law or similar means”. Then the intent would be clear. This includes vulgarity, bad taste, raised voices, sneering and booing. Comedians, in particular, should know no bounds. You may deplore what they say and despise them for saying it, but they must not be thrown in jail or deprived of employment (so long as people want to see them). Offensive speech is often brave speech, because people may hate you for it and refuse to be your friend. Fine, you take that risk, but you should not be incarcerated for it, or beaten, or executed, or exiled. Anyway, free speech is vital to a healthy society (or family). It is opposed because it can be critical and damaging. We need to have libel laws, but truth is always a defense. The next time you hear someone denouncing someone else’s right to free speech, look at what they are trying to hide. They are doing it for a reason.