photo #9330416

No Such Thing as Offensive Speech!Lex GreeneAug 05, 2026 It’s time to end the anti-American practice of leftist thought and speech police! There’s no such thing as “offensive speech.” What someone finds “offensive” is in the eye (or ears) of the beholder. Each individual gets to decide what they are “offended” by. There are only a few different types of speech, and “offensive” isn’t one of them! This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Threatening Speech Making “threats” again someone else isn’t “offensive” speech, it’s illegal speech. No one has the right to threaten the life or well-being of someone else. We have laws against this type of speech. Threatening speech against others, with a clear intent to cause harm, is not protected by the 1st Amendment. It’s a crime under U.S. Law. Speech intended to cause bodily harm, incite violence, property damage, a riot or insurrection, or intimidate and manipulate others, is against the law. “Threatening speech is illegal in all 50 U.S. states and under federal law when it constitutes a “true threat”—a statement where the speaker communicates a serious intent to commit unlawful violence against a specific individual or group. Such speech is not protected by the First Amendment*, distinguishing it from political hyperbole, jokes, or heated rhetoric.”* False Accusations (including fake news) It’s also against the law to make false accusations or claims against another individual or group, referred to as “libel” or “slander,” a form of “defamation of character” on a false premise. “Libel refers to written or published defamation, while slander refers to oral or spoken defamation. Both are types of defamation, a civil tort where a false statement of fact harms a person’s reputation.” When anyone attempts to spread false information about someone else, in an overt effort to defame the reputation of that individual or group of individuals, it is not a form of speech protected by the 1st Amendment. If the accusations are true, it is not “libel” or “slander.” But if the information is false, it is not a protected form of speech, and you can be held liable for those statements. “Defamation is a statement that injures a third party’s reputation.” This includes spreading false information about public figures for mere political purposes. Free Speech The 1st Amendment protects every citizen’s Right to speak freely, so long as that speech does not fall into one of the two categories above. Every citizen also has a Right to freedom of thought. “Truth” is also often in the eye of the beholder today. Freedom of thought includes a difference of opinions. Two people can look at the same set of “facts” and draw two different conclusions, and thereby, opposing opinions. The problem happens when one or the other isn’t sticking to the “facts.” When people invent their own facts, it’s an attempt to mislead others. That should be the most “offensive” act of all, for everyone concerned. Silence isn’t Golden The only way to never offend anyone is to never speak at all. If you just sit down and shut up, you will never offend anyone with what you say. Of course, you will never be free either, you will be irrelevant in this world, entirely. Nobody will ever know what you’re thinking. Birds of a Feather When someone limits their intake of information to only sources they agree with, they are engaged in misleading themselves. If they step out into the public domain with carefully filtered information, now they are engaged in misleading others. Verify before you Trust We live in the greatest disinformation age in human history. Finding false information is as easy as turning on your favorite “fake news” network, blindly following your closed-circle social media influencers and friends, or a quick internet search or AI question. But finding truth in this disinformation age requires much more work. You have to seek truth and eliminate all of the white noise and fake news you will run into first. If you really want to know the truth about anything, it’s out there. But it won’t be the first thing you find in your search for truth. You will find the lies first…they are everywhere. So, instead of worrying about being offended or offending someone, try focusing on what’s true and let the chips fall where they may. Never be offended by an honest difference of opinion. Just be offended by those who spread false information, almost always based upon someone else’s opinion they happen to like. Only TRUTH can set you free, which means, the lies will always enslave you. Don’t be a slave to lies and never be offended by the truth, no matter where you find it! https://lexgreene1.substack.com/p/no-such-thing-as-offensive-speech?utm_source=cross-post&publication_id=3776843&post_id=209958293&utm_campaign=1014038&isFreemail=true&r=j1szi&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email