--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there is anyone who values free…" description: "\"If there is anyone who values free speech, it is a tenured professor!\" — Anthea Butler" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/anthea-butler-7679_communication_if-there-is-anyone-who-values-free-speec_722238.jpg" --- # If there is anyone who values free speech, it is a tenured… ![“If there is anyone who values free speech, it is a tenured professor!” quote by Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/anthea-butler-7679_communication_if-there-is-anyone-who-values-free-speec_722238.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/anthea-butler-7679_communication_if-there-is-anyone-who-values-free-speec_722238.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/518/anthea-butler-7679_communication_if-there-is-anyone-who-values-free-speec_722238.jpg) > “If there is anyone who values free speech, it is a tenured professor!” [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Free speech is most vital when defended by those in secure positions, like tenured professors. **In simple terms:** Free speech matters most for the privileged. Key Takeaway Protect speech, especially for the secure. Themes free speech tenure power dynamics Mood critical thoughtful Type political ethical When to use this quote - classroom debates - policy discussions - public forums Key Concepts institutional responsibility academic freedom social justice Questions to Reflect On - How does power affect speech rights? - What responsibilities come with tenure? A Different Perspective Tenure can create blind spots. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Free speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-speech/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) [Teachers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/teachers/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) ## Related quotes > [Every summer, I regret that I didn't become a college teacher. Such a sweet life! With all that vacation time! You'll never get me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dirda/every-summer-i-regret-that-i-didn-t-become-a-college-teacher-such-a/) [Michael Dirda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dirda/) > [I'm a tenured professor. But I'd get rid of tenure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-fukuyama/i-m-a-tenured-professor-but-i-d-get-rid-of-tenure/) [Francis Fukuyama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-fukuyama/) > [I liked that he was a tenured professor in the Department of Slightly Crooked Smiles with a dual appointments in the Department of Having…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-liked-that-he-was-a-tenured-professor-in-the-department-of-slightly/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [I mean, part of me would love to be a fat tenured professor of theater someday.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-criss/i-mean-part-of-me-would-love-to-be-a-fat-tenured-professor-of-theater/) [Darren Criss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-criss/) > [My mother ended up getting a Ph.D. of her own, in chemistry, and eventually became a tenured professor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celeste-ng/my-mother-ended-up-getting-a-ph-d-of-her-own-in-chemistry-and/) [Celeste Ng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celeste-ng/) > [I was the first tenured woman at Columbia. That was 1972; every law school was looking for its woman. Why? Because Stan Pottinger, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/i-was-the-first-tenured-woman-at-columbia-that-was-1972-every-law/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [When I came to Harvard, there were no tenured women except one, who was in a chair reserved for a woman. It's still an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-c-nussbaum/when-i-came-to-harvard-there-were-no-tenured-women-except-one-who-was/) [Martha C. Nussbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-c-nussbaum/) > [I was an adjunct. I never got tenure, never had it. I was a professor, though. But I never got tenure. I never really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-barry/i-was-an-adjunct-i-never-got-tenure-never-had-it-i-was-a-professor/) [Robert Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-barry/) > [By giving professors jobs for life, universities create a feeling of unanswerable power among too many. Tenured professors who are uninterested in serving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-shapiro/by-giving-professors-jobs-for-life-universities-create-a-feeling-of/) [Ben Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-shapiro/) > [I'm the only tenured black faculty in the sciences at Columbia, in the middle of Harlem.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-hart/i-m-the-only-tenured-black-faculty-in-the-sciences-at-columbia-in-the/) [Carl Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-hart/) > [I got an A in philosophy because I proved my professor didn't exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-tenuta/i-got-an-a-in-philosophy-because-i-proved-my-professor-didn-t-exist/) [Judy Tenuta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-tenuta/) > [“The Professor is coming...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-professor-is-coming/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Consider him in his highest incarnation: the university professor. What is his function? Simply to pass on to fresh generations of numskulls a body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/consider-him-in-his-highest-incarnation-the-university-professor-what/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [I never had a single female professor throughout my whole education, from the beginning of university to the end. Even all the books were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-geller/i-never-had-a-single-female-professor-throughout-my-whole-education/) [Margaret Geller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-geller/) > [You get kicked around long enough, you become a professor of pain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-borgnine/you-get-kicked-around-long-enough-you-become-a-professor-of-pain/) [Ernest Borgnine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-borgnine/) ## More by Anthea Butler > [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [I went to Catholic school and experienced racism firsthand from nuns and priests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/i-went-to-catholic-school-and-experienced-racism-firsthand-from-nuns/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [Graham promoted a white evangelical respectability that wanted to 'put the brakes' on the civil rights movement, and never really accepted women as equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/graham-promoted-a-white-evangelical-respectability-that-wanted-to-put/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [Historically, narratives of forgiveness were part of both the anti-slavery movement and the civil rights movement in America. 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Since the election of Francis, Republicans have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/trump-s-defense-of-white-anglo-saxon-protestantism-is-gathering-those/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [Not every conservative Christian is a dominionist, but to say a movement doesn't exist, as some pundits and journalists have, without even being able…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/not-every-conservative-christian-is-a-dominionist-but-to-say-a/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [The University of Pennsylvania and my wonderful colleagues in the Department of Religious Studies have been routinely sent hate emails about me. Calls to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/the-university-of-pennsylvania-and-my-wonderful-colleagues-in-the/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [Coldplay's 'Hymn for the Weekend' video featuring Beyonce is already caught in a heated conversation about cultural appreciation of Indian religion and culture versus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/coldplay-s-hymn-for-the-weekend-video-featuring-beyonce-is-already/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [President Barack Obama cried during his announcement of new executive actions designed to curb gun violence in the United States by restricting the access…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/president-barack-obama-cried-during-his-announcement-of-new-executive/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) > [Bernice King, daughter of MLK, is an assistant pastor at New Birth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/bernice-king-daughter-of-mlk-is-an-assistant-pastor-at-new-birth/) [Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) [Explore all 88 Anthea Butler quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. 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Smashing heads does not open minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-tannen/in-dialogue-there-is-opposition-yes-but-no-head-on-collision-smashing/) [Deborah Tannen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-tannen/) > [A dialogue is very important. It is a form of communication in which question and answer continue till a question is left without an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/a-dialogue-is-very-important-it-is-a-form-of-communication-in-which/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [I get afraid of the dark if I'm in a great deal of dark, and I have to move around inside of that fear...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-ferris/i-get-afraid-of-the-dark-if-i-m-in-a-great-deal-of-dark-and-i-have-to/) [Emil Ferris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-ferris/) > [I've been in a serious conversation with one of my children, and a fan has come up. 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