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Speech Is Not Violence
Actual violence against speech is never justified
You may want to sit down for this. Maybe even buckle up. Because I’m about to challenge one of the sacred dogmas of modern social justice thinking.
Ready? Here we go.
Speech is not violence.
Not even offensive speech. Not even speech you consider hateful. Not even speech you find utterly abhorrent.
None of it is violence.
Which means this: Actual physical violence is never morally justified against people simply because they said something you don’t like.
Still with me? Deep breaths. Inhale. Exhale. We can get through this together.
Why? Because the world won’t end just because someone said something you don’t like.
I know, I know. If you’re a social justice progressive type, you’ll say it’s more serious than that. It’s not about mere disagreement, you’ll say. It’s about speech that “erases” you or those you love. Or speech that supports fascism, racism, or some other -ism you fear.
Okay. Now, I need you to read me carefully. Track with me.
Words do matter.
They matter a lot.
