<i>A white person says, &#x27;N-&#x27;s don&#x27;t belong in this town; they should keep their mouths shut.&#x27; If you are the black person, that&#x27;s a very intimidating situation. I&#x27;m not sure I support &#x27;free speech&#x27; there.</i><p>It would be intimidating and rage-inducing, but its worth keeping in mind that the person who uttered the racist threat is still bound by law and physical violence is not free speech. And here we&#x27;ve found the line to make free-speech work: even-handed law-enforcement against physical violence, theft etc. Racist slurs on the other hand, while more cutting to people who have been marginalized, are just words designed to produce an emotional response. They fall under the category of speech.<p><i>The only speech I won&#x27;t tolerate is intolerance itself.</i><p>Which is a form of intolerance.