Free Speech

In London's Hyde Park, there is an area known as Speaker's Corner, where, by tradition and the law, people are free to make speeches and express themselves.

I have been there a few times. Speakers sometimes stand on boxes or ladders to make themselves more visible. The confident ones just stand on the ground. Some people want to preach religion; others talk politics. Some people try out their stand-up comedy. Some just talk randomly about whatever pops into their heads. Not everyone attracts an audience, and not every audience is respectful. The speakers have the right to speak; the hearers have the right to disagree or walk away.

And that is pretty much what free speech is and isn't. You can say whatever you like, and you can't compel anyone to pay attention to you, nor can you require those who do pay attention to agree with you.

 

Wednesday was a busy day on campus. The "Free Speech Zone", which usually hosts only the Bible ladies and an occasional salesman or two, was the venue for a political-religious group with huge, provocative posters, handing out flyers to passersby. According to reports in the school paper, some past demonstrations have led to shouting matches, but as far as I could tell, nobody got loud on this day. The campus police were posted a few yards from the edge of the zone, just in case.

Seen on Campus

I can’t remember which political conference it was that introduced the concept of the "Free Speech Zone". That is, a zone designed to prevent free speech from being heard. It caught on rapidly and now it is my understanding that all major political events in the U.S. use this device. Still, I was a bit surprised to encounter this on the campus of Pierce College, whose newspaper proudly (if somewhat enigmatically) proclaims itself to be "a first amendment publication".

There are a couple of "older" ladies who usually spend most of the day on campus sitting at a folding table where they dispense free Bible-related literature. They are always within the boundary of the "free speech zone" (usually tightly wedged into the only shady spot). When I asked, they confirmed that this is the only area the college allows them to use.

I don't think it's a bad idea to restrict people from off campus to limited areas. Otherwise we would quickly be overrun by politicians, advertisers, hucksters, and all the other annoying characters who'd like to bombard us with messages about whatever it is they're selling. But I don't care much for the way this area is labeled. And I like even less the way this kind of area is being used by government agencies and political parties. I am old enough to remember when the entire United States was considered a free speech zone.