Free speech exists only in so far as it does nothing.
(The second it does, you face consequences).

Free speech advocates are dishonest, they claim to support individuals' right to say whatever they please, yet when such individuals express opinions that the free speech advocates disagree with, they engage in their own cancel culture. Governments, even the American government, also place conditions on supposed free speech, in that you cannot advocate for hate, violence, or in a professional setting, give incorrect and malicious advices. Otherwise, you can be thrown in jail, sued, and/or lose your licence to practice in the particular industry whether it be medical, law, finance, etc.

Free speech, the ability to say whatever you want, is an immature concept, one that we're not surprised to see NEETs, teenagers, and "edgy" people support on the internet. But why so? I invite you to imagine the following scenario, imagine you are told by a divine angel you have absolute free speech, and upon testing out this new power of yours you find yourself out on the street yelling at the top of your lungs your intention to kill, "I have a gun, and I'm going to shoot all of you!", yet...nobody is running from you, nobody is tackling you, nor are you being arrested, or shot in the head by a swat sniper, you have absolute free speech because you have said a very threatening statement, yet you have faced no consequences,

How would you feel? Would you feel good? Or, would you feel rather defeated and empty? Of course, the latter, because you find yourself to be nothing. You are not a threat, nobody is afraid of you, in fact, people treat you in the same manner as one would treat a mentally handicapped individual who talks about stabbing people with his plastic spoon, a complete indifference because they know nothing will happen.

Words are not "just" words, this is a very insulting position to take for oneself. I place value on my words, I am aware they communicate information, I am aware they have the power to hurt others. It's easy to imagine the only people offended by "mere words" are blue haired overweight women who are of socialist/liberal leanings, but we all get offended by words, we might differ on what kind of words, and who it's coming from, if your significant other called you ugly, would you not be offended? I'm sure now you realise words can be impactful.

Let's consider this example, if a homeless man walks into a hospital and says "heart surgery? That sounds mad gay, yo!" what would be the consequence? Nothing. Some might roll their eyes, some might laugh, but ultimately the homeless man would be escorted out of the building calmly by security, and he'd go back to living in his tent under a bridge eating cold baked beans, maybe he might share his "funny" story about how he "pwned" the hospital, with his friends.

Now, let's suppose instead of a homeless man, it was a heart surgeon who said such a statement. What would the consequence be? Very dire. The surgeon would be reprimanded, escorted out of the building, very likely to lose his job and licence, and the incident might even end up on front page news. The surgeon would come home to an angry landlord about unpaid rent (or angry bankers about unpaid mortgage bills), his wife would divorce him and take the kids, etc. He might even get his information doxxed by online activists. I ask you rhetorically, why is it the homeless man can say as he pleases with no consequences, yet the surgeon couldn't? Because, of course, the words coming out of the surgeon's mouth mattered.

People like to think they're "edgy" by saying slurs, and even though I've made jokes that are considered offensive in mainstream culture, I don't fool myself by thinking I'm "fighting the snowflakes", I do believe most free speech advocates think highly of themselves by thinking they're fighting imaginary SJWs (in the same manner you have some guys discuss how to avoid "evil bitches" when they themselves can't get any female attention to begin with, or how 2nd amendment enthusiasts will talk about needing guns to protect from a tyrannical government, when the supermajority of them will give away their guns the second federal agents knock on the door).

You might suggest people should grow a thicker skin, but what does that mean specifically? At what point does this become a cope? If someone calls their boss a racial slur, should the boss have a thicker skin and walk away? What implication would this have on the rest of the workplace? Firing the employee is the rational step to take.

Let's also not forget, free speech is a "right" in the same manner access to clean water is a right, it sounds nice, but what does it mean specifically? Most of the world's population do not have access to a quick, clean and reliable supply of water, and those that do have to get a job and pay the utility bills or else the water is shut off. YOUR free speech only exists in so far as you're willing to fight for it, and I'd argue most free speech advocates aren't willing to fight for it.

We might look at other parts of the world and find it barbaric people are killed for what they say, but that's only because in those places what the people say is actually threatening. In Saudi Arabia, insulting the Islamic religion means to insult the way of life for 100% of the population, you are insulting the education system, family values, legal system, and social norms which are based on Quranic principles. In the West, insulting Christianity means nothing since very few of the citizens are actual Christians, and the infrastructure here is based on secular principles, not Biblical. OF COURSE the Saudi authorities are going to behead critics of Islam, because unlike in the West, religion actually means something over there rather than simply being a fashion statement or a mere identity on a Sunday.

It's legal to criticise political parties in the West because they aren't really the ones in power, they are simply puppets for the actual people who hold power, so insult them all you want, because even if somehow you managed to topple them down with your words, the cabal will replace the disgraced "pwned" party with the opposition. In other parts of the world, such as in North Korea or China, the political party IS the one actually in charge, so insults thrown their way are going to be tackled. Liberalism isn't that much different from authoritarianism, it simply adds fog, making it difficult for you to fight. In North Korea, they have their own domestic internet system called the Kwangmyong, they cannot access the global internet we have, we might say "those North Koreans are oppressed!" but are most Westerners not oppressed as well? Most of us rely on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, etc for our internet consumption, just like how the North Koreans have their own specific sites to go to when they access the Kwangmyong. Just because 1% of the Western internet users such as you or I seek alternative media means NOTHING to the Western cabal.

Right now, I'm noticing anti-immigration talks to become a lot more prominent, and political commentators who were previously banned on most mainstream platforms are now becoming more mainstream. Why is that? Is it because they free speech'd their way into becoming mainstream? No. It's because artificial intelligence has reached a point where companies no longer rely on cheap foreign labour as much, and now it might become necessary to remove "useless eaters" from society, as such, talks of repatriation and closing down the border is becoming more acceptable ideas put forth by the algorithm.

I would say I have more of an ability to say what I want given my position. My financial situation is comfortable, I don't rely on a boss for my income, and as such if I were to ever get "cancelled" I don't have to worry about living on the street. I have contact with two law firms (for other reasons), so if I ever get in legal trouble for what I say, I can contact the people I know and get straight to building my case. Despite this, I am a member of society, I do not live in the woods, and as such I am bounded by a social contract to ensure I am careful with what I say. Sometimes, I do allow myself liberty to say offensive matters, but I don't hide behind "muh rights", I am willing to accept that what I say COULD lead to the police on my doorstep, I am willing to accept what I say COULD lead to my information being doxxed, however, I am neither important enough nor what I say is offensive enough to lead to such a response.

Perhaps that is why I evaluate free speech differently from most internet people, I understand it's something precious, it's something that my hard work has given me the power to exercise it, and therefore, not to be misused.

In the US, it's legal to give financial advice- no matter how terrible- unless you are being paid in which case you then need to make sure what you say is actually reasonable advice. Of course, (literal) free speech means nothing, yet being paid for your speech requires you to say something of substance.

In times of war, countries will implement restrictions on speech. Isn't that interesting? When your speech has the power to reduce moral or dissuade people from joining the army, then all of a sudden, your speech is restricted. Yes, because in times of war, mere ideas such as "don't join the army" can become quite threatening.

Forgo this false idea of "free speech" and instead, focus on YOUR speech. A piece of paper guaranteeing your rights means NOTHING, just like how access to clean water is a right, shelter, food, etc, yet you still have to go out there and earn the money to pay for those things, you have to fight for speech.

My lesson to you is this, be honest, you only support free speech in a political context because right now "your side" (which isn't really yours, politics is fake) is the underdog, you say offensive jokes because you know the government isn't going to arrest and execute you, or you assume a false notion of privacy, which will be unveiled if you continue to do this long enough- just look at the many edgelords we have on the internet who had their identity doxxed once they attained a certain level of popularity.

Free speech isn't real. But enjoy the illusion, I like enjoy edgy jokes too from time to time.