We haven't seen as much news lately about conservative speaker being shouted down on college campuses. Maybe it's because conservatives no longer get invited to speak.
In any event, the subject of the heckler's veto comes up from time to time, and that prompted this blogger to seek out this ancient quote from Fredrick Douglass. His speech came about after a gang of hired ruffians disrupted a speech against slavery. Here's the quote:
There can be no right of speech where any man, however lifted up, or however humble, however young, or however old, is overawed by force, and compelled to suppress his honest sentiments.
Equally clear is the right to hear. To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker. It is just as criminal to rob a man of his right to speak and hear as it would be to rob him of his money.
Fredrick Douglass was an old school orator, and the speech seems verbose by today's standards. But if interested, a transcript of the speech can be found at this website: A Plea for Free Speech in Boston.
------
3:28 PM 5/4/2018
Comments