ISP port blocking practice/Free Speech

Sun Oct 25 14:04:43 UTC 2009

>  > Free speech doesn't include the freedom to shout fire in a crowded theatre.
>
>  It most certainly does!  There is absolutely nothing to prevent one from
>  shouting "FIRE" in a crowded theatre.

Actually, it doesn't. When I was on-staff at the computer center at Dartmouth,  
our provost also happened to be a first-amendment scholar, and he gave us an impromptu  
speech about the first amendment at a staff meeting :-)

The US Supreme Court recognizes a couple exceptions to the broad permission to  
speak freely:

- Shouting fire in a crowded theater is explicitly prohibited because of the obvious  
danger and risk of injury.

- "Fighting words", that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite  
an immediate breach of the peace". [Wikipedia] The example he gave was this: someone  
standing on a soapbox in Hanover NH, saying that we should storm the gates in  
Washington and burn the place down is just exercising their free speech rights  
- there's no credible *imminent* threat. However, standing there and saying that  
we should burn down the Town Hall could clearly be believed to be a real threat,  
and the government would be justified in stepping in.

Rich Brown                    richard.e.brown at dartware.com
Dartware, LLC                 http://www.dartware.com
66-7 Benning Street           Telephone: 603-643-9600
West Lebanon, NH 03784-3407   Fax: 603-643-2289