--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We stand for free speech. This means we…" description: "\"We stand for free speech. This means we are not going to ban distasteful subreddits. We will not ban legal content even if we find it odious or if we p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/yishan-wong-38295_bans_we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-a_1712396.jpg" --- # We stand for free speech. This means we are not going to… ![“We stand for free speech. This means we are not going to ban distasteful subreddits. We will not ban legal content even if we find it odious or if we personally condemn it.” quote by Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/yishan-wong-38295_bans_we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-a_1712396.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/yishan-wong-38295_bans_we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-a_1712396.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/yishan-wong-38295_bans_we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-a_1712396.jpg) > “We stand for free speech. This means we are not going to ban distasteful subreddits. We will not ban legal content even if we find it odious or if we personally condemn it.” [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Advocates protecting lawful speech, even if unpopular, by refusing to ban distasteful but legal content. **In simple terms:** Protect legal speech even if offensive. Key Takeaway Defend free expression. Themes free speech censorship platform policy Mood defensive principled Type policy statement When to use this quote - social media moderation - online community standards - content policy debates Key Concepts libertarianism digital rights moderation Questions to Reflect On - How should platforms handle speech that is legal but deeply offensive? - What limits, be placed on moderation without stifling discourse? A Different Perspective Balancing free speech with harmful content concerns is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Free speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-speech/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/) ## Related quotes > [I've got to think about what I'm going to say very carefully. There's two avenues of thought: Do you stop everyone going, ban all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-ve-got-to-think-about-what-i-m-going-to-say-very-carefully-there-s/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [You can't say you're going to ban something in the name of good taste, because then you have directed someone to play the role…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/you-can-t-say-you-re-going-to-ban-something-in-the-name-of-good-taste/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Our universities also have a lot of foreign students. Are we going to ban them access because in their culture there's a certain type…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/najat-vallaud-belkacem/our-universities-also-have-a-lot-of-foreign-students-are-we-going-to/) [Najat Vallaud-Belkacem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/najat-vallaud-belkacem/) > [With the greatest respect, we do not make the criminal law on the basis of opinion polls. A majority of 9:1 could be in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-clarke/with-the-greatest-respect-we-do-not-make-the-criminal-law-on-the/) [Kenneth Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-clarke/) > [A genius is the man in whom you are least likely to find the power of attending to anything insipid or distasteful in itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/a-genius-is-the-man-in-whom-you-are-least-likely-to-find-the-power-of/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [You can be authentic without being distasteful or disrespectful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/you-can-be-authentic-without-being-distasteful-or-disrespectful/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [“In his own country all this would have been highly distasteful to Jean Marie Latour. Here, these demonstrations seemed a part of the high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/in-his-own-country-all-this-would-have-been-highly-distasteful-to/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [Someone so mean, ruse and distasteful, I dont know why they like you. There is something wrong with their eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyu-won/someone-so-mean-ruse-and-distasteful-i-dont-know-why-they-like-you/) Kyu Won > [People probably long for something genuinely personal in a society where the personal is often indistinguishable from the "personalized." Maybe the poetry audience member…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rae-armantrout/people-probably-long-for-something-genuinely-personal-in-a-society/) [Rae Armantrout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rae-armantrout/) > [Whether my acting was obscene, or whether it was distasteful, well, Judge Rehnquist, who just recently passed away couldn't define pornography. His comment on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reems/whether-my-acting-was-obscene-or-whether-it-was-distasteful-well/) [Harry Reems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reems/) > [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Nothing to me is more distasteful than that entire complacency and satisfaction which beam in the countenances of a new married couple; in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/nothing-to-me-is-more-distasteful-than-that-entire-complacency-and/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [But if I must be alone, I refuse to be alone as if it were something weak and distasteful, like convalescence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-if-i-must-be-alone-i-refuse-to-be-alone-as-if-it-were-something/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Have you found your life distasteful? My life did and does smack sweet. Was your youth of pleasure wasteful? Mine I save and hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/have-you-found-your-life-distasteful-my-life-did-and-does-smack-sweet/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [I ask one thing only: I ask for the right to hope, to suffer as I do. But if even that cannot be, command…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-ask-one-thing-only-i-ask-for-the-right-to-hope-to-suffer-as-i-do/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) ## More by Yishan Wong > [I'm not looking to step in and make 'big, bold changes' - I think reddit is great, and the team has a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/i-m-not-looking-to-step-in-and-make-big-bold-changes-i-think-reddit/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [Reddit strives to be a community-oriented link-sharing and news site, which means that all our content is submitted and voted on by members of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/reddit-strives-to-be-a-community-oriented-link-sharing-and-news-site/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [I think that's one of the most unique and potentially powerful things about reddit - people come for the news, and stay for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/i-think-that-s-one-of-the-most-unique-and-potentially-powerful-things/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [All of us at reddit work here because we think that reddit is a community like none other. We think it can be a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/all-of-us-at-reddit-work-here-because-we-think-that-reddit-is-a/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [Reddit is where anyone can come and tell their real story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/reddit-is-where-anyone-can-come-and-tell-their-real-story/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [One hundred years ago, people were faced with the choice of learning to read or remaining illiterate laborers who would be left behind as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/one-hundred-years-ago-people-were-faced-with-the-choice-of-learning/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [I wish I was CEO of 4chan instead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/i-wish-i-was-ceo-of-4chan-instead/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [Everything ultimately becomes the CEO's problem, no matter where it starts. I can see why some CEOs crack under the pressure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/everything-ultimately-becomes-the-ceo-s-problem-no-matter-where-it/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [I think that building any product that has a lot of user loyalty is a bit like making a sequel to a great movie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/i-think-that-building-any-product-that-has-a-lot-of-user-loyalty-is-a/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [With Facebook, you're not really allowed to be unhappy. Think about it: There's only a like button. Yes, you can be angry, but it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/with-facebook-you-re-not-really-allowed-to-be-unhappy-think-about-it/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) > [In the context of social media, reddit is more about the media than the personalities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/in-the-context-of-social-media-reddit-is-more-about-the-media-than/) [Yishan Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) [Explore all 12 Yishan Wong quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/) ## More Bans quotes > [ Ben Carson also denounced \[Donald\] Trump's ban all Muslims proposal saying we do not and would not advocate being selective on one's religion. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-maddow/ben-carson-also-denounced-donald-trump-s-ban-all-muslims-proposal/) [Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-maddow/) > [Why dost thou shrink from my approach, O Man? Why dost thou ever flee in fear, and cling To my false rival, Life? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ella-wheeler-wilcox/why-dost-thou-shrink-from-my-approach-o-man-why-dost-thou-ever-flee/) [Ella Wheeler Wilcox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ella-wheeler-wilcox/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Art penetrates, no matter how many bans you put out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mawra-hocane/art-penetrates-no-matter-how-many-bans-you-put-out/) [Mawra Hocane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mawra-hocane/) > [The American people intuitively understand this, which is why the majority of Catholics practice birth control and some of those opposed to gay marriage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-american-people-intuitively-understand-this-which-is-why-the/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [In every state of the Union, Fundamentalists still fight to ban all the science they dislike and prosecute all who teach it. To them,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-anton-wilson/in-every-state-of-the-union-fundamentalists-still-fight-to-ban-all/) [Robert Anton Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-anton-wilson/) > [My argument is focused on the fact that a relatively small percentage of the world's Muslim countries are impacted by this order. Stated differently,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-rivkin/my-argument-is-focused-on-the-fact-that-a-relatively-small-percentage/) [David B. Rivkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-rivkin/) > [It is cruel for you to leave your daughter, so full of hopeand resolve, to suffer the humiliations of disfranchisement she already feels so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/it-is-cruel-for-you-to-leave-your-daughter-so-full-of-hopeand-resolve/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Banning guns, drugs, alcohol, premarital sex, political incorrectness, and gay marriage hasn't worked. We should ban Life. So long as even one of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rock-cowles/banning-guns-drugs-alcohol-premarital-sex-political-incorrectness-and/) [Rock Cowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rock-cowles/) > [The most damaging prejudice consists of banning any kind of investigation of nature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/the-most-damaging-prejudice-consists-of-banning-any-kind-of/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [When observers look back 50 years from now, the arguments supporting Florida's ban on same-sex marriage, though just as sincerely held \[as views of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lewis-hinkle/when-observers-look-back-50-years-from-now-the-arguments-supporting/) Robert Lewis Hinkle > [The bill would ban human cloning, and any attempts at human cloning, for both reproductive purposes and medical research. Also forbidden is the importing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-calvert/the-bill-would-ban-human-cloning-and-any-attempts-at-human-cloning/) [Ken Calvert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-calvert/) > [We should totally ban for-profit charters. For-profit's first obligation is to its stockholders, not to its children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-ravitch/we-should-totally-ban-for-profit-charters-for-profit-s-first/) [Diane Ravitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-ravitch/) > [I have been asked what would I ban immediately if I could. Advertising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/i-have-been-asked-what-would-i-ban-immediately-if-i-could-advertising/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [Lacking its own ingenuity, the parasite fears the visionary. What it cannot plagiarize, it seeks to censor. What it cannot regulate, it seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ryan/lacking-its-own-ingenuity-the-parasite-fears-the-visionary-what-it/) [Andrew Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ryan/) Browse all 318 Bans quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We stand for free speech. This means we are not going to ban distasteful subreddits. We will not ban legal content even if we find it odious or if we personally condemn it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Yishan Wong" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-are-not-going-to-ban/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bans" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-are-not-going-to-ban/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/yishan-wong-38295_bans_we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-a_1712396.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/yishan-wong-38295_bans_we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-a_1712396.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c4f/yishan-wong-38295_bans_we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-a_1712396.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We stand for free speech. This means we are not going to ban distasteful subreddits. We will not ban legal…” — Yishan Wong", "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": "Yishan Wong", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yishan-wong/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We stand for free speech. This...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-are-not-going-to-ban/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yishan-wong/we-stand-for-free-speech-this-means-we-are-not-going-to-ban/#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 } } ] } ```