"Free speech," though one of the more ubiquitous legal terms du jour, is also widely misunderstood. There are a number of mentalities behind this ignorance, perhaps none so simply observed as in the title of the famously liberal writer Nat Hentoff's book on the subject: "Free Speech for Me, but Not for Thee." Our society at large has a long tradition of seeking to carve out free speech exceptions, but the courts, far more often than not, have ruled to protect, in the words
"Free speech," though one of the more ubiquitous legal terms du jour, is also widely misunderstood. There are a number of mentalities behind this ignorance, perhaps none so simply observed as in the title of the famously liberal writer Nat Hentoff's book on the subject: "Free Speech for Me, but Not for Thee." Our society at large has a long tradition of seeking to carve out free speech exceptions, but the courts, far more often than not, have ruled to protect, in the words of the late Supreme Co…
