newsflash defending someone’s right to be a bigoted asshole doesn’t make you an open minded, principled person, it makes you complicit in bigotry and oppression
Haha, no. That's not how freedom of speech works.
yeah, if anything I'd throw that in the best of thread. Ironbite said it best, people can say what they want, but that doesn't exempt them from social consequences. The whole idea of freedom of speech (according to Justice Black and Douglas) is to create a market place of ideas. That is why government shouldn't get involved, so good, albeit unpopular opinions (read communism and socialism*) can be promoted in a free and civil manner. Regardless, society is free to reject such views as stupid and pointless. Which is the idea of free speech, Jack can say "fags will burn in hell" and people can say "Jack's an ass", but the government can't discriminate against either viewpoint.
*I went with communism because most of the famous free speech cases are states persecuting communists.