What is the difference between Free Speech and Fighting words?

Question

I told some guy in a wheelchair to roll his --- faster accross the street! He wanted to beat me-up.

I told a woman with a "mentally challenged" child to get her stupid ----ing "tardo" out of the way. She was very close to taking a swing at me. And started to cuss me out. It was funny.

I asked a sickly person "ahh.... do you ------ hurt?" he gave me a grave look and said You should have this disease.

Free speech rocks!!!

I laughed at women coming out of an abortion clinic in LA a few years ago. I wasn't with the anti-Choice freaks, which they thought I was. Which I guess was twice as much as an insult!!

It is constitutionally protected to be a complete jerk!! Which the Abortion clinic hyjinx was the high-light of it all. Some women were crying, and I made them cry more! The Anti-Choice freaks asked me to leave, I told them to "Go to Hell!", a pastor wanted to beat me up, because of other nasty remarks I made towards him. (It was during the time when the American Catholic church was having alot of scandles, I made remarks about that and suggested he was involved)

Answer 1

The fighting words doctrine is speech that does not fall under the protection of the first amendment....not only could there be penalties in many states...the person would not be laible to you for any injuries they cause.

Calling a woman's child ----ing tarded would easily be considered fighting words...speech that would cause a reasonable person to cause violence...I wished she did hit you...and knock a few teeth out.

Answer 2

I agree with Dr. Luv.

The First Amendment protects a wide range of expression that many people do not like. Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice William Brennan wrote in the Court’s 1989 decision in Texas v. Johnson: “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because it finds it offensive or disagreeable.”

The fighting words doctrine, in United States constitutional law, is a limitation to freedom of speech as granted in the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. In its 9-0 decision, Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire (1942), the U.S. Supreme Court established the doctrine and held that "insulting or 'fighting words', those that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace" are among the "well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech [which] the prevention and punishment of...have never been thought to raise any constitutional problem."

The court has continued to uphold the doctrine but also steadily narrowed the grounds on which fighting words are held to apply. In Street v. New York (1969), the court overturned a statute prohibiting flag-burning and verbally abusing the flag, holding that mere offensiveness does not qualify as "fighting words". Similarly, in Cohen v. California (1971), the fact that Cohen had been arrested for wearing a jacket that said "**** the draft" did not constitute uttering fighting words since there had been no "personally abusive epithets."

In oft-cited language, Justice John Paul Harlan wrote:

"For while the particular four-letter word being litigated here is perhaps more distasteful than most others of its genre, it is nevertheless often true that one man’s vulgarity is another’s lyric. Indeed, we think it is largely because governmental officials cannot make principled distinctions in this area that the Constitution leaves manners of taste and style so largely to the individual."

Answer 3

Dude, Free Speech is Free Speech. The only difference is that Free Speech that may incite immediate lawlessness in the community will be restrained. Nothing more, nothing less.

Answer 4

You sound a little off

you should be lucky you do not try your free speech on someone who is a little off, could end up being two in the head.

There is a difference, respect has a little to do with it, but being personally responsible has more to do with it.

Answer 5

The difference is:
Free Speech = expressing your opinion.
Fighting words= expressing the second half of your opinion through a fat lip...LOL

Answer 6

To use "fighting words" you need to use your voice on people that are not handicapped, either physically or mentally.
You don't need balls to be a bully, anyone can do it, you just need an abusive childhood to motivate

Answer 7

You are not a very thoughtful person.

Nor do you seem to value life.

You may end up being an example to "justifiable homicide."

Answer 8

There's no difference. You can be as big a jerk as you want, as long as you're willing to take the beatings. :D

Answer 9

free speech is a matter of legality. fighting words are a matter of intelligence.