freedom of speech is not a blanket permission to be a racist asshole without consequences

It’s like clockwork. Every time a racist gets push-back for being racist, they throw a tantrum about “freedom of speech.” This probably comes from generations of absorbing the idea that white supremacy is supposed to be protected at all times, an idea that the U.S. and its justice system hasn’t done much to combat, and in fact openly supports.

This was also the idea behind the fatal Charlottesville “Unite the Right” white supremacist rally over the weekend, with the liberal ACLU even suing the city to allow for it to happen on the grounds of “freedom of speech.” And that’s all well and good; people should have the right to speak whatever they want to speak, but if and only if those who disagree are allowed the freedom to call that shit out.

It’s quite simple: white supremacists have the protected right to be white supremacists, and everyone else has the protected right to call them the fuck out, which is exactly what people like @YesYoureRacist on Twitter are doing by identifying people in photos from the rally and getting them fired.

The flip-side of “freedom of speech” seems to go right over the heads of white supremacists like Peter Cvjetanovic, who told Channel 2 News in Nevada that “I did not expect the photo to be shared as much as it was” after a picture of him looking ugly and racist and holding a torch in Charlottesville went viral, perfectly symbolizing “Unite the Right.”

Well, they better start expecting it, because we don’t plan on letting anyone off the hook.