1. Q: Should people say bad things (e.g., demeaning, inegalitarian, or mean comments)?
A: No.
2. Q: If people shouldn’t say bad things, then should saying bad things be prohibited?
A: No. Most things that are bad shouldn’t be prohibited.
3. Q: But maybe if someone says a bad thing outside of work or school, they should still get fired from their jobs or kicked out of school?
A: Not usually. Often the same reasons against making something illegal are also reasons against imposing other sanctions on people.
4. Q: Ok, but what if a boss fires someone for saying a bad thing, or what if a campus administrator expels a student? If that’s wrong, then shouldn’t what the boss or administrator did be illegal?
A: No (see question #2).
5. Q: What if instead of people getting fired or facing legal penalties, everyone just yells at the person who said the bad thing?
A: It depends. Sometimes this is a good idea. Sometimes, yelling at people in this way amounts to saying a bad thing (see question #1).
6. Q. So basically, you’re saying that people can’t say bad things but they have to put up with other people saying bad things and not facing legal penalties or getting fired. And it’s only sometimes ok to yell at people who said bad things? It sounds like you’re saying that people have to put up with a lot of stuff they disapprove of in order to avoid inappropriately sanctioning or punishing someone. What kind of view is that?!
A: Liberalism.