Free Speech

I had decided not do a blog of the soon-to-be dentist of Dalhousie University who have been so much in the news lately. The fourteen or so 4th year dentist who had participated on a Facebook page that was to say, at the very least, misogynistic and obscene were just too easy targets to pick on. I didn't think there could be anything  new to say about their lack of understanding as to what was appropriate in  2014. But after reading an article in the tablet edition of the CBC News, I can not restrain myself.

A professor from St. Marys University has argued that perhaps people should be allowed, under the umbrella of free speech, to say what ever they want - even if it is offensive and disturbing to others. According to the article one should be able to say that they want to rape a specific woman and have others agree with them online.

I am all for free speech. I think people should, especially in an university setting, be encouraged to express new thoughts and to critically explore the range of human expression (not that dentist are known for their wide ranging philosophical thoughts). But free speech can not exist at the expense of other people's feelings or sense of wellbeing. There are accepted norms of behaviour. For example there is a general understanding that one is not allowed to cry "fire" in a crowded theatre and one can not deny the existence of the holocaust.  To argue that one can discuss their desire to rape a classmate is their right  under any sort of free speech rule is absurd - such statements are a threat and should be seen as a criminal offense.

To argue that we need to engage in a debate about free speech instead of a national debate about how to assist men in understanding why the type of conversations that occurred on Facebook is offensive is to deny that anything wrong was done. How the university deals with this issue will be interesting - let us not confuse the issue by saying it was really okay to do in the first place.