Freedom of Speech does not mean freedom from consequences

Scott Adams getting his 'Dilbert' comic removed is a result of his choices; Ron DeSantis's attempt to silence bloggers is unlawful

This week I found myself asking an important question that I had to ponder for a few days: How can I, a person who loves America’s freedom of speech, support the actions taken against Scott Adams and his comic Dilbert while at the same time opposing Florida’s bill that would force writers in Florida to register with the state in order to avoid being fined?

Someone could, if they so chose, say that I was being hypocritical here. Adams was speaking his mind, one could point out, when he said that black people were a hate group and white people should stay away from them, and that the hundreds of newspapers dropping his comic went against his right to say what he wanted. And then, if I was fine with their actions, I should also be fine with DeSantis and the Florida GOP’s push to limit people’s right to write what they wanted in Florida, too, but I don’t because he’s a Republican and I don’t vote for them.

Said person would then likely call me a name and say I was a “typical demon-rat” who only wanted free speech when it was what I agreed with and that shows that I’m not really a supporter of the 1st Amendment. They’d Quote Tweet me on Twitter and say something like “Don’t be like this fool” maybe with a few more swear words thrown in for good measure.

However. They are mistaken, and this is what most people who take this argument miss, which is why I’m writing this column.

Scott Adams isn’t being prosecuted by the government for what he said. Businesses are making a business decision to remove his work from their product because they see it as a liability instead of a benefit. They fear that if people open their newspaper (YES people still do that!) and see his comic inside, they’ll think that they’re on board with his racist language. Which, despite his attempt to clarify before and afterward that it wasn’t, most definitely was and here’s why:

Imagine if Oprah would not book anyone who was white on her show saying “As a Black woman, I feel that I must stay away from white people because they’re all dangerous.”

Or, imagine if LeBron James said “I refuse to play on a basketball team that has any white people on it! They’re all ruining our black culture and I refuse to play next to someone who has, or will do, something more to take down our culture.”

That’s just about the same thing as what Adams said, even if the “full context” doesn’t mean what everyone thinks it means. That argument has already been lost, no matter what he says from here on out.

But, back to free speech limits.

What DeSantis and his party are trying to do is get people to self-censor themselves so they don’t get fined per day for failing to “register” with the state of Florida. What that registration involves is anyone’s guess, and it’s a clear violation of the 1st Amendment. You cannot be prosecuted or fined by the government for what you say or write in the United States.

DeSantis likely knows this, but, what he also knows is that his supporters see him attempting this as a way to “wage war” against the crooked media that’s making up lies about “Hard-working American Patriots.”

So, in that way, it doesn’t matter if the act becomes law or not. His trying to do it boosts his support among those who agree with him. That’s the performative side of politics, and he’s clearly using that for his own personal means. And that’s another big reason why I think it’s ridiculous that he’d even attempt to do it. Anyone who doesn’t drink the DeSantis Kool Aid can see what this is. But, I digress.

At the end of the day, freedom of speech isn’t freedom from consequences. If I go online and say something that’s critical of my employer, I could, in theory, be let go. If I go on a podcast and read something from a new hypothetical book project that sounds racist, I will not have the police at my door, but I will likely suffer consequences when it comes to my book sales. This isn’t new, but still to this day it’s a fact that thousands of people cannot grasp, for whatever reason.

Understanding the limits to what one can say doesn’t mean you always have to agree with them. But, oftentimes the world doesn’t care what you feel about something when the court of public opinion has made its judgment. That’s the way it works, for better or worse.