This. I really wish more people could wrap their heads around this idea, because it's so important. There is no a priori way to suppress "bad" speech and also

This. I really wish more people could wrap their heads around this idea, because it's so important. There is no a priori way to suppress "bad" speech and also * not suppress ideas that are good but unpopular * not suppress speech that is valid criticism that annoys the powerful * not suppress speech that is valid criticism that annoys the majority * not suppress speech that is true but makes most people uncomfortable * not suppress speech that is true but also most people don't believe But! With strong free speech protections, no one can suppress ideas that are good but unpopular; nor ideas that are valid criticism, even those that annoy the powerful and the majority; etc. Here are examples of hate speech laws being used in unexpected, and unexpectedly awful, ways. And, these uses are inevitable and unsurprising to those of us who have a deeper philosophical understanding of how free speech works: * https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/2012/mar/15/azhar-ahmed-treason-army-facebook-comments https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/libertycentral/201... * https://www.salon.com/2016/11/07/french-hate-crime-ruling-sets-a-dangerous-precedent-for-lgbt-people-it-is-now-illegal-to-call-someone-a-homophobe-in-france/ https://www.salon.com/2016/11/07/french-hate-crime-ruling-se... * https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-france-sarkozy-idUSBRE92D0SV20130314 https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-france-sarkozy-idUSBRE... * https://web.archive.org/web/20191115120742/https://southeastasiaglobe.com/singapore-hate-speech/ https://web.archive.org/web/20191115120742/https://southeast...