--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech…" description: "\"Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech you like; it protects speech you don't like.\" — Larry Flynt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/larry-flynt-14805_communication_freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech_1478494.jpg" --- # Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech you like; it… ![“Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech you like; it protects speech you don't like.” quote by Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/larry-flynt-14805_communication_freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech_1478494.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/larry-flynt-14805_communication_freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech_1478494.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/larry-flynt-14805_communication_freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech_1478494.jpg) > “Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech you like; it protects speech you don't like.” [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) ## 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 protects unpopular ideas, not just agreeable ones, ensuring a robust public discourse. **In simple terms:** Free speech guards all expression. Key Takeaway Defend even speech you dislike. Themes freedom speech rights society Mood defiant assertive Type political controversial When to use this quote - political debates - media regulation - online platforms - activism Key Concepts law politics civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - Should all speech be protected equally? - What limits, if any, are acceptable? A Different Perspective Protecting harmful speech can cause real damage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Freedom of speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom-of-speech/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [Freedom of speech doesn't guarantee great literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-guarantee-great-literature/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“Freedom of speech doesn't mean freedom from judgement.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-pearce/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-mean-freedom-from-judgement/) [Jackson Pearce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-pearce/) > [It just seems to be a human trait to want to protect the speech of people with whom we agree. For the First Amendment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/floyd-abrams/it-just-seems-to-be-a-human-trait-to-want-to-protect-the-speech-of/) [Floyd Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/floyd-abrams/) > [Beautiful speech doesn't need protection, it's ugly speech that needs protection. We have these cultural norms that allow people to say really ugly things.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-bezos/beautiful-speech-doesn-t-need-protection-it-s-ugly-speech-that-needs/) [Jeff Bezos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-bezos/) > [Apple doesn't have to write code, which equals speech, when it doesn't agree with what the government wants to do. And it's not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-sydell/apple-doesn-t-have-to-write-code-which-equals-speech-when-it-doesn-t/) [Laura Sydell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-sydell/) > [Hubert, a speech doesn't have to be eternal to be immortal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-humphrey-brown/hubert-a-speech-doesn-t-have-to-be-eternal-to-be-immortal/) Muriel Humphrey Brown > [The Supreme Court has held that code is speech. And it doesn't matter that it's done on a computer or done face to face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-wales/the-supreme-court-has-held-that-code-is-speech-and-it-doesn-t-matter/) [Jimmy Wales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-wales/) > [“A good speech is like a woman's skirt: short enough to hold your attention, long enough to cover the subject”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-tropper/a-good-speech-is-like-a-woman-s-skirt-short-enough-to-hold-your/) [Jonathan Tropper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-tropper/) > [“...and since, human speech is like a cracked tin kettle, on which we hammer out tunes to make bears dance when we long to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flaubert-gustave/and-since-human-speech-is-like-a-cracked-tin-kettle-on-which-we/) [Flaubert Gustave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flaubert-gustave/) > [Speech is like a medicine, a small dose of which cures but an excess of which kills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hazrat-ali/speech-is-like-a-medicine-a-small-dose-of-which-cures-but-an-excess/) [Hazrat Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hazrat-ali/) > [“A good speech should be a like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest. —WINSTON CHURCHILL”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mcgowan/a-good-speech-should-be-a-like-a-woman-s-skirt-long-enough-to-cover/) [Bill McGowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mcgowan/) > [A speech is like an airplane engine. It may sound like hell but you've got to go on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-t-piper/a-speech-is-like-an-airplane-engine-it-may-sound-like-hell-but-you-ve/) William T. Piper > [La parole humaine est comme un chaudron fe" le o u' nous battons des me lodies a' faire danser les ours, quand on voudrait…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/la-parole-humaine-est-comme-un-chaudron-fe-le-o-u-nous-battons-des-me/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Human speech is like a cracked cauldron on which we bang out tunes that make bears dance, when what we want is to move…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/human-speech-is-like-a-cracked-cauldron-on-which-we-bang-out-tunes/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Commercial speech is like obscenity... we can't seem to define it, but we know it when we see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jef-i-richards/commercial-speech-is-like-obscenity-we-can-t-seem-to-define-it-but-we/) [Jef I Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jef-i-richards/) ## More by Larry Flynt > [Hypocrisy is a detriment to progress. There's always a hidden agenda.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/hypocrisy-is-a-detriment-to-progress-there-s-always-a-hidden-agenda/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [These days... it's all vanilla sex for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/these-days-it-s-all-vanilla-sex-for-me/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [Well, one thing, you got to stand in a courtroom and listen to a judge sentencing you to 25 years in prison before you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/well-one-thing-you-got-to-stand-in-a-courtroom-and-listen-to-a-judge/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [You have to be able to tolerate what you don't necessarily like so you can be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/you-have-to-be-able-to-tolerate-what-you-don-t-necessarily-like-so/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that individual communities should set obscenity standards. Whenever a case is tried, it will be based on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/in-1973-the-supreme-court-ruled-that-individual-communities-should/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [I will concede to you one thing - 'Hustler' is offensive, even to the point of being iconoclastic. That's our purpose - to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/i-will-concede-to-you-one-thing-hustler-is-offensive-even-to-the/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [Once I began following my own instincts, sales took off and I became a millionaire. And that, I think, is a key secret to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/once-i-began-following-my-own-instincts-sales-took-off-and-i-became-a/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [There's nothing more political than sex. The church has had its hand on our crotch for more than 2,000 years, and the government is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/there-s-nothing-more-political-than-sex-the-church-has-had-its-hand/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [You will encounter many distractions and many temptations to put your goal aside: The security of a job, a wife who wants kids, whatever.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/you-will-encounter-many-distractions-and-many-temptations-to-put-your/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [You know, everybody believes in free speech until you start questioning them about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/you-know-everybody-believes-in-free-speech-until-you-start/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [The right-wing of the Republican party isn't so much a political agenda as a plea for help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/the-right-wing-of-the-republican-party-isn-t-so-much-a-political/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [The sole motivating factor behind the death penalty is vengeance, not justice, and I firmly believe that a government that forbids killing among its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/the-sole-motivating-factor-behind-the-death-penalty-is-vengeance-not/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [Just because I publish pornography does not mean that I am not concerned about the social ills that all of us are](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/just-because-i-publish-pornography-does-not-mean-that-i-am-not/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [My mother always told me that no matter how much you dislike a person, when you meet them face to face you will find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/my-mother-always-told-me-that-no-matter-how-much-you-dislike-a-person/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) > [If the human body's obscene, complain to the manufacturer, not me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/if-the-human-body-s-obscene-complain-to-the-manufacturer-not-me/) [Larry Flynt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) [Explore all 45 Larry Flynt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/) ## More Communication quotes > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [The problem posed by indirect speech acts is the problem of how it is possible for the speaker to say one thing and mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-searle/the-problem-posed-by-indirect-speech-acts-is-the-problem-of-how-it-is/) [John Searle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-searle/) > [We should have a conversation when we hang up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benedict-cumberbatch/we-should-have-a-conversation-when-we-hang-up/) [Benedict Cumberbatch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benedict-cumberbatch/) > [Sing like no one's listening, love like you've never been hurt, dance like nobody's watching, and live like its heaven on earth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/sing-like-no-one-s-listening-love-like-you-ve-never-been-hurt-dance/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [A poet is wounded into speech, and he examines these wounds, meticulously, to discover how to heal them. 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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. I've been in a public bathroom and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-ve-been-in-a-serious-conversation-with-one-of-my-children-and-a-fan/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Disability, in general, hasn't been included in the conversation about inclusivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-winston-george/disability-in-general-hasn-t-been-included-in-the-conversation-about/) [Jason Winston George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-winston-george/) > [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/) Yoram Wind > [There are certain things you must not say in spite of the fact that supposedly democracy means free speech. No. You are not allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-eubank-sr/there-are-certain-things-you-must-not-say-in-spite-of-the-fact-that/) [Chris Eubank Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-eubank-sr/) [Browse all 21,506 Communication quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech you like; it protects speech you don't like.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Larry Flynt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech-you-like-it-protects-speech/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Communication" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech-you-like-it-protects-speech/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/larry-flynt-14805_communication_freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech_1478494.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/larry-flynt-14805_communication_freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech_1478494.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc9/larry-flynt-14805_communication_freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech_1478494.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech you like; it protects speech you don't like.” — Larry Flynt", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Larry Flynt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-flynt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Freedom of speech doesn't protect speech...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech-you-like-it-protects-speech/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-flynt/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-protect-speech-you-like-it-protects-speech/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```