My problem with this line of argument is that people who aren&#x27;t well-off straight white guys like myself are <i>already</i> scared of expressing opinions. They have been for centuries. The only thing that has changed is that people with privilege, on rare occasion, can no longer say certain things without any consequence.<p>As Popehat writes, freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences. There&#x27;s an important question of what consequences should or can legitimately flow from speech. But when this &quot;people shouldn&#x27;t be scared to express opinions&quot; line gets trotted out only to defend white guys, it&#x27;s a tell. The nominal principle might be freedom of speech, but if the only people defended are the privileged, the actual principle is maintenance of societal privilege.