NYT Op-Ed: Free Speech ‘Parameters’ Must Be Redrawn To Protect The ‘Marginalized’

Amber Randall reports: A New York Times op-ed argues for a new understanding of free speech that takes into account the experiences of the more marginalized in society.

Ulrich Baer, the author and a New York University professor, writes Monday in favor of students who protest talks on campuses from more conservative voices like political scientist Charles Murray and provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos. These students, unlike “liberal free-speech advocates,” understand that a more complex definition of free speech is needed, Baer argues.

“Universities invited speakers not chiefly to present otherwise unavailable discoveries but to present to the public views they have presented elsewhere. When those views invalidate the humanity of some people, they restrict speech as a public good,” Baer writes.

This broader understanding of free speech must take into account the public good and take care not to demean the experiences of others, according to Baer…. (read more)

Source: The Daily Caller