Is Free Speech Still Free Speech? 

We are living in the age where social views have completely changed. Views and opinions of the past are frowned upon, and most of them rightfully so. Ideologies such as racism and homophobia are all things this new wave of social justice is tackling. These are awesome steps for society, but is social justice starting to be taken too far?  

Freedom of speech in Canada is a fundamental right in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It is found in Part 1.  

“freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication”. 

This means we have freedom to express opinions, without fear of prosecution. But, can we express ourselves in the modern day? Can we voice unpopular opinions without fear of prosecution?  

In our modern society, prosecution by peers is more rampant than ever. With this new dawn of social media, we face different challenges. Things such as victimizing and jumping to conclusions can lead to trial by social media. This is where someone’s reputation becomes ruined because they were proven guilty on social media before they had a chance to prove themselves innocent, this often happens when only one side of the story is revealed. As an example, the Christian school boys wearing the MAGA hats earlier this year. With this new age of social justice, people who fall under these trials by social media don’t stand a chance. For example, Stephen Crowder and the claims of him being a neo-nazi activist who encourages violence.  

For those who don’t know who Stephen Crowder is, he is a talk show host. His core beliefs are, his strong stance in the Second Amendment, how he is pro-life, and how he only believes in two genders. These are unpopular beliefs for those with left leaning political views, typically involved in the social justice movement. He has a website called The Mug Club, and a popular Youtube channel. His most popular segments are called “Change my Mind” where he sets up a table with two chairs and asks those who have opposing views to express why they oppose them in a 1 on 1 conversation. He started the segment because he believes it’s no longer possible to hold a civil conversation, with people being able to support their claims. Crowder has many conversations with people that are emotionally driven, which leads to people often stating he is a racist, a sexist, homophobe etc... and consistently trying to shut down his dialogues and show. While he does have a right leaning political stance, he is not racist or homophobic, and he is very anti-violence.  

While I don’t agree with many of his beliefs, I am talking about Crowder because in the past month Crowder has been in a legal battle with a professor from the University of Texas Arlington. This Professor of Logic is an emotional, left leaning activist, who is known to confront right leaning students with aggression. Crowder did his segment (Change my mind) at UTA and the Professor protested and called the police, then continued to slander Crowder on social media, stating that Crowder had threatened his son’s life, that Crowder said we need to “burn all the cikes”, and many other extreme claims that were not proven. When Crowder was finally fed up with these allegations, he confronted the professor. He was met with aggression, more slander, and once again police called upon him. All Crowder had wanted from the Professor was either one of his claims proven, or to sit down and hold a conversation. The Professor refused both. 

This is an extreme example of how holding civil conversation with strong left political views is difficult. But it is a perfect example of how free speech, no longer feels free among peers. We still have the right to say what we want. We can still express ourselves how we choose, but the attacks on your reputation, the slander, and backlash you can face and receive from someone opposing a standpoint, is seen everywhere. Holding debate and conversation seems to no longer be an option. It’s no longer about letting people explain their ideologies, it’s about making everyone think in just one way. Whether it’s being louder or finding a way to attack reputation and taking their voice away.  

Freedom of Speech (n.d) Wikipedia. Retrieved            from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_speech_in_Canada 

Legal Update on ‘Crowder Confronts Lying Professor| Louder With Crowder. Youtube/Stephencrowder. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fAzKIo7j2M&t=7s 

Part 1 (n.d). Canadian charter of rights and freedoms. Retrieved from https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-36.html 

Part V (n.d). Canadian charter of rights and freedoms. Retrieved from https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/Const/page-15.html 

The Full Story About the Kentucky Boysin Maga Hats Emerges (jan 21) The daily signal. Retrieved from https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/01/21/the-full-story-about-the-kentucky-boys-in-maga-hats-emerges/