Braveheart said it all with the words, “FREEEEEEEDOOOMM!!!!!”

I agree with both Derek Bok and Milena Ateya arguments defending freedom of speech. They both provided ample supporting evidence to substantiate their claims, and they also did it in a lucid and logical way.

To me, hate speech is anything that is unnecessary or derogatory against any other living thing, whether it is human or otherwise. People who spout hate have little self control, and I personally have little patience for them. They contain an obvious disrespect for other sentient beings, and even though there are varying levels of hate speech, there is never an innocuous form of hate.

A college campus is a place of higher education, and being as such, sensitive topics are often broached. The right to freedom of speech is something that should never be taken away, and should such a situation arise where a student is being insensitive to others’ personal beliefs by posting a controversial item, such as a confederate flag, that student should not only be reminded why the item is offensive, but also forced to remove the item- The item should only be removed after it has caused enough of an uproar to get the people petitioning. Simply having parents call to complain isn’t enough; the offended students must be forced to rise up and act before another person’s rights are infringed upon.

Each individual has certain unalienable rights, which should never be limited, but every person also deserves respect. It is a hard balance to maintain, because while freedom of speech should never be limited, speech can fall into the realm of gratuitous, where action is necessary. I personally have never run into this problem before, I have only dealt with it in theory.