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PaperclipPerfector  3d ago (text post)   13395 thread views

Culture War Roundup for the week of August 24, 2026

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Technically the jury found her speech towards the camera man rose to the level of "fighting words" (a First Amendment exception). She was acquitted on the original count against the child and his father.

You can search here for the case (I can't find a way to get a link). Case number 55-CR-25-6656. From the Jury instructions (document #58) as regards the charge she was convicted of:

DEFINED
Under Minnesota law, whoever, knowing or having reasonable grounds to know that it will tend to alarm, anger, or disturb others, or provoke an assault or breach of the peace, engages in offensive, obscene, abusive, boisterous, or noisy conduct, or in offensive, obscene, or abusive language tending reasonably to arouse alarm, anger, or resentment in others, is guilty of a crime.

ELEMENTS

The elements of this crime are:

First, the defendant engaged in offensive, obscene, abusive, boisterous, or noisy conduct, or in offensive, obscene, or abusive language tending reasonably to arouse alarm, anger, or resentment in others.

If you find that the defendant's conduct consisted only of offensive, obscene, or abusive language, you must also find that the words used were “fighting words.” Speech is not “fighting words” merely because it is racist. “Fighting words” are words that constitute personally offensive epithets that, when spoken to the ordinary person, under the particular circumstances of the case, are, as a matter of common knowledge, inherently likely to provoke a violent reaction or incite an immediate breach of the peace by those to whom such words are addressed. The offense may be based upon the utterance of fighting words alone, without resulting in actual violence. The focus is upon the nature of the words and the circumstances in which they were spoken, rather than upon the actual response.

Second, the defendant knew or believed or had reasonable grounds to know that the conduct would, or could, tend to alarm, anger, disturb, provoke an assault by, or provoke a breach of the peace by others.

Third, the defendant's act took place in a public or private place.

Fourth, the defendant's act took place on or about April 28, 2025, in Olmsted County. If you find that each of these elements has been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant is guilty. If you find that any element has not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant is not guilty.

The instructions are identical for the count on which she was acquitted.

So is this going to be appealed or what?

The linked court database shows that an appeal was filed on July 30, one week after the conviction.

Technically the jury found her speech towards the camera man rose to the level of "fighting words" (a First Amendment exception). She was acquitted on the original count against the child and his father.

In other words, racist speech was not protected by the First Amendment, yes?

Are there fighting words for white people? Republicans? Christians?

No, speech intended to incite violence was not protected. Making it racist was a shortcut.

are there fighting words for white people?

Uh, yeah. Most of the classic cases are white-on-white. Stuff like “god damned fascist” is obviously outdated, but “fucking pig” still counts. This Montana case has some of the more recent examples. Here’s one from South Carolina. I don’t actually know who (if anyone’s in this scenario was white, but the fighting words consisted of insulting a man’s mother to his and her faces.

Fighting words have to thread a needle. Start with all the times that someone talked shit with the intent of provoking a fight. Remove all the ones which didn’t result in any arrest. Now take out those which turned into assault because the speaker took a swing first. And the ones where he made a “true threat” and ran into a different law. And the ones where he was drunk or high in public. All of those get their own charges, making the speech beside the point.

We’re left with a handful of cases from, like, public nuisance laws. They don’t usually make it to the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court has been backing away from the fighting words doctrine since 1970. Since states can't enact a stricter doctrine than the one the federal government uses, I doubt this will survive appeal.

The Roberts Court will bend over backwards not to protect the right to say the n-word.

Honestly, this shouldn't reach the Court. The appeals court has all they need to reverse. After which, the SC just denies cert.

The Supreme Court is free to amuse themselves in whatever way they see fit.
Meanwhile, in the real world...
I don't believe in the First Amendment. That is, I do not believe it would significantly protect me from the things I would actually need protecting from if I were to exercise the rights it purports to enshrine, and convolutions about how the extremely awful things that would have a very high probability of happening to me don't count because they weren't what the First Amendment was intended for don't actually interest me.

I cannot speak freely. I have not been able to speak freely for a very long time, and I do not think this is likely to change in the foreseeable future. Therefore, I do not care if you cannot speak freely either. If the First Amendment is a dead letter for me, and it is, then it should be a dead letter for you too. If it isn't, then that is a problem that needs fixing, and it's pretty clear to me that it's not going to be fixed by the restoration of strong principles and norms of robust free speech and mutual toleration, so that leaves the other way.

Usually, the counter-argument is something along the lines of "you just want to be able to use the N-word without consequences". But this could not be further from the truth! I do not think I have ever spoken or written the n-word to another person, and the only time I've actually spoken it aloud when alone was when singing along to Nina Gordon's cover of NWA, many years ago. I would never do that now, of course, because it is simply, obviously true that words are powerful magic and can ruin your whole life if used incautiously, and obviously I don't want my life ruined. I have no interest in gaining protection from dark magic I gain no benefit from employing in any case; I would much, much rather see illegitimate protection removed from other classes of dark-magic practitioners who now enjoy immunity for their abuses.

I do not think I have ever spoken or written the n-word

I've never said the n-word. To the point where I haven't and even can't say it aloud when I'm totally alone, despite intellectually not believing in magic words.

My wife jokes that it's because I'm scared (((they))) are listening.

That’s next level knee-bending to a no-no word. I’d be afraid of letting a girlfriend/wife know I was so frightened by the gamer word, lest she gets the ick. You could consider some exposure therapy through Fitzsimmons-maxxing.

Perhaps “nigger” is the modern Bloody Mary. Say it three times in a bathroom mirror and the ghost of Saint Floyd will show up to drag you away for your sin.

I get scared even seeing it rendered in HTML. Let it be known I unequivocably condemn your sacrilege.

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