I'm going to say that censorship itself has never been a bug in society but rather a feature of how societies organize their ideologies formally and informally.

I'm going to say that censorship itself has never been a bug in society but rather a feature of how societies organize their ideologies formally and informally. In the case of Fredrick Douglas' speech being censored by a violent mob and the police bowing to the mob in the end are examples of how societies function in this case. I'm not saying censorship is good or bad but imagining the United States is separate from other societies in having a legal norm of free speech doesn't eliminate the social norms (formal and informal) that violate the spirit and law of free speech. And there's not been much effort in the years between the highlighted event and now that has changed this behavior in the United States or elsewhere. More than ever, we're seeing all societies turning to censorship and self-selection to avoid conflict even if said conflict is inevitable and that maybe heated discussions and insults would be kinder than bullets and fists. The real problem here is how do we break the social norms that induce censorship? The law itself isn't sufficient and making a "mandatory free speech" kind of law seems contradictory since the right to speak comes with the implied right to not hear the speaker. So I'm all ears on what everyone here thinks we can do to resolve the matter.