I once believed that offensive speech shouldn't be allowed to circulate in the market place of ideas. I held this view for quite some time, specially when I was still living in the Philippines. When I started living here in the Netherlands my views changed.
I became more and more tolerant of offensive speech, not because I agree with offending anyone but because I've come to learn that the only way to defeat offensive speech is by letting it be confronted rather than silenced; you cannot confront offensive speech if you are going to censor it.
My major turning point happened during a protest rally I attended here in The Hague. The protest aimed to counter the anti-immigrant protest happening elsewhere in the city. The anti-immigrants protesters started to march towards us. The police formed a protective barrier between us and them. Yet they didn't stop the anti-immigrants from saying the most racist speech you could imagine against us i.e. cuss words, slurs, fuck you signs in abundance, telling us to go back where we came from.
Instead of complaining about how harsh the other side was, something else happened to me. I appreciated the role of the State (as represented by the police) in upholding the freedom of speech of everyone. They were there not to silence anyone but to protect everyone from physical harm. I turned to one of my colleagues and told her: This is freedom.
