RE: An Open Invitation To Alex Jones
Thanks for a well thought out response @funbobby51, I appreciate that a lot :-)
Yours is a valid way of looking at it, that's why I consciously added the remark about "intent". We have experience with this, right here on the internet on social media. Regarding "free speech" as a right to insult is just not the right way to approach it in my view. You will inevitably insult of hurt feelings when being honest, that's why a good understanding of intent has to play a role on both sides. And it is an area where we'll always be experimenting; humor, for example, is a way to insult without having the intent to hurt anyone. To intentionally hurt someone's feelings is always wrong when there's other ways to communicate what you have to say. So an atheist can go around and ridicule faith at every chance he has, or he can try and have a dialogue with "the other side" on equal footing where both sides at least try to respect each others feelings. Which you think is best to do or which will have the desired result has solely to do with the intent of your conversation. Free speech is not for insulting, my friend, not taking away that insults can sometimes be functional to. Does this make sense..?
Being insulted is subjective. There is not any right to not be insulted thus insulting people is a great example of the sort of speech that free speech rights are intended to protect. I can say what I want, even if I intend it to insult someone, think about it, if no one was insulted or offended who would try to silence that speech?
If someone chooses to be jerk and debates with insults then they may not convince whoever they are arguing with but if we make that a crime then anyone can silence anyone else by claiming to feel insulted.
I made a meme that explains it:
