President elect of the Oxford Union, George Abaraonye, is to face disciplinary action over social media comments in support of Kirk’s assassination. This has come following calls to expel him from the Union and even the university. This is not an isolated incident. People have lost their jobs after making similar comments. US vice-president JD Vance called for such individuals to be targeted and reported to their employers. A website, Charlie Kirk Data Foundation, was created with the aim of tracking down people who celebrated Kirk’s death and getting them fired for it. In a previous article, I argued that Kirk’s death and the reactions to it are an escalation of the culture war. The dox-and-destroy campaign against those who celebrated his death is just another proof.
The Free Speech Crisis
Kirk’s death has made the West’s free speech crisis impossible to ignore. Once the home of thinkers like John Stuart Mill and Voltaire, we are now at a place where freedom of speech is a lofty concept that may or may not exist depending on how we feel. Worse still, society seems comfortable with this new reality.
In the same article, I wrote, “Free speech is the foundation of a free society, and it is under attack from all angles. From the UK’s draconian laws to the EU’s Chat Control legislation, to the rise of cancel culture in the U.S., and now, violence—free speech is at risk.” Across the political spectrum, the right to speak freely is being undermined.
Cancel culture is not the exclusive domain of the left. The right has shown it can wield it just as eagerly. Calling for the cancellation of someone who celebrates Kirk’s assassination is as much an attack on free expression as celebrating the death itself. Both reflect the same underlying problem: an absence of tolerance and respect for people’s rights to say things we may condemn. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is not the society we want to live in.
We must speak out against all the threats to free speech. Whether it’s against those that will forfeit it for safety, to get at their opponents, or to create a world where only what they consider appropriate speech is said, we must muster up the same energy in this fight.
Free Speech Protects Speech You Detest, Yet Speech Should Be Met With Speech
There is a dangerous illusion that free speech is only about protecting polite or agreeable language. If “acceptable speech” becomes whatever the most influential group decides it is, that definition could change tomorrow. Just as we create checks and balances on governments regardless of who is in power, we must protect fundamental freedoms like speech without wavering. It is not free speech if it only protects speech we approve of.
People should be able to disagree. I think Abaraonye’s statements were insensitive and reflect a lack of ability to engage with the different political views that we have in society. It is a poor reflection on him. Should he be expelled from Oxford? Absolutely not. Should he be removed from the role of president of the Union. I don’t think so. He was elected and we’re kidding ourselves if we think that at least half the people who voted for him don’t share his views.
The proper response to “hate speech” or vile speech is not to call someone’s boss or university in hopes of ruining their life. You cannot claim to support free speech if you only defend speech you like. Yes, awful things will sometimes be said. It is morally repugnant and politically foolish to celebrate someone’s death. But people who do so should not lose their jobs or be expelled from school because of it. Their lives should not end over a social media post. People must be allowed to make mistakes. We change our minds all the time, even our political beliefs.
If the views that are becoming mainstream in society are worrying, be rest assured that your censuring or attacking those that hold those views does not help. It rather serves to further push those people to extremes and reinforces the idea that those who disagree with you are the enemy.
Freedom of Speech Means Freedom After Speech
I keep hearing the phrase, “Freedom of speech is guaranteed, but freedom after speech isn’t.” This is just a way of saying, “I don’t actually believe in free speech.” Of course, employers are free to choose who they want working for them, as well as if certain public expressions of said persons are acceptable to them. However, the norm should not be to track down the employers of persons that have made unsavoury remarks and pressure them to fire those employees.
It is not free speech if you could lose your job, be expelled from school, or be mauled in the streets because of what you said. If speaking your mind means losing your livelihood and the end of your life as you know it, then no one is truly free to speak. Many will choose silence. Others will retreat into anonymity, where discourse becomes more radical, less humane, and devoid of accountability.
No, you do not want people scared to voice their opinions because they might lose their jobs. You do not want to live in a society where people echo the same opinions because they are scared of going against the crowd but vote differently. When we stop talking with one another, trying to understand one another, making disagreeing with one another normal, we leave space for violence and discontent to take root. For hatred and “othering” to take root. Again, this is not the society we want to live in.
We can disagree with speech. We can denounce it. What we must not do is demonise and destroy the speaker. If we want to bridge divides and end the culture war, destroying people’s livelihoods will not get us there.
The Moral of the Story
Here’s the moral of the story. Someone says something stupid online? Engage them in a civil debate, or ignore them and move on. Leave their employer or school out of it. Someone at work or on campus holds views you find problematic? Talk to them. Try to understand. Try to be understood. Agree to disagree if you must. The future of a free society depends on our ability to do exactly that.
This piece solely expresses the opinion of the author and not necessarily the magazine as a whole. SpeakFreely is committed to facilitating a broad dialogue for liberty, representing a variety of opinions. Support freedom and independent journalism by donating today.
