Is free speech alive and well in America? Is Justice still holding the scales, still wearing a blindfold? I believe one case in America can answer this question in neon detail for us all. Recently in Georgia, former New York City mayor, Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to pay 140,000$ to a duo of election workers. This unusual case is so legal complex, I believe this will become a landmark case, that will ultimately set a precedent for the precedent for the future of free speech in the American.
The details of this case are a bit odd, so here’s the facts. The case in question has to do with Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss. A mother/daughter pair respectively. Both women allege that their lives were destroyed by Giuliani’s statements about the 2020 election being rigged. The pair presented evidence before the court that they were both targets of hateful and even at times, racist. The pair alleged that since Giuliani was inciting people, he is the primary culprit.
This is a very strange case because in a an other court this would just be a case of cyber bullying. Certainly terrible, and should be condemned, but my issue is how can Mr. Giuliani be charged over this? Let’s just put aside his politics for a moment. Never forget that Voltaire gave us the best definition of free speech when he said, “I may disagree with everything you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” I pored over notes form the court case and I have yet to see any evidence that Mr. Giuliani ever told anyone to go and harass election workers. Not one single time.
My other issue is over the fact that Mr. Giuliani has never had any direct connection to these cyber bullies. I would like to know how Mr. Giuliani can be charged for someone else’s crime when he never old anyone to harass election workers, nor did he know the cyber unless in question? This is an important question for us all, liberal and conservative to ask. Rudy Giuliani was ordered to pay a little over 140 thousand dollars to the mother/daughter pair. Think of that, over the fact that other people not associated with Mr. Giuliani decided to go and harass people they didn’t know.
This could be just he start for Mr. Giuliani, it’s been reported that other election workers could be seeking payouts soon. We’ll see what comes of that, if anything. But the current case as it stands is troubling enough. It’s easy to look at someone as controversial as Mr. Giuliani and think, ‘yeah well, good riddance!’ That’s what most would do anyway, but this isn’t the right way to look at this contentious case. Let me reiterate, Mr. Giuliani is being charged with someone else’s actions. Someone he has never met a day in his life. If this can happen to Mr. Giuliani, then what about the rest of us? It would be like charging Heath Ledger (RIP), or Jack Nicholson, or even Joaquin Phoenix for the demented individuals who have dressed up as the Joker and committed heinous crimes. That’s about the same level of absurd.
I believe this case has set a dangerous new precedent for the future of free speech in America. As a writer, I take the right of free speech very seriously. Regardless of someone’s political persuasions, I believe the right of free speech belongs to all. It doesn’t matter if I agree with the person or not. If Giuliani can be charged for someone else’s actions, who’s next? What sets the bar for ‘involvement’? Because I haven’t seen any clear definitions or guidelines over this. Who will be next? History teaches us that tyranny always seeps into a nation very slowly. It starts with cases like this.
