Speech Theories Blog Post

I think the speech theory that is really important is number 6: Promote Tolerance. This theory basically states that you can say anything you want but you can not escape the consequences of the things you say. For example when people nowadays are getting “canceled” for some very justified reasons. I think it’s important because as a black woman at a PWI it’s good to think about. I know I have been put into situations where some consequences haven’t been sufficient enough for me and some people would agree. One of the most memorable moments was when I went to school with this individual who was racist, and homophobic yet she identified as a gay latina but was white passing. Anyways she irritated me for 2 years freely expressing her views and even saying things like it doesn’t matter the impact of what she says because she can say whatever she wants. There was even a time she kept provoking me in class and I told her to leave me alone. Then when I used my words to make her eventually leave me alone I was seen as the aggressor because my teacher ignored my “calls for help” but heard my side clearly. 

The whole point of this is she did this to not only me but other students. So when it came time for college decision day a lot of us got fed up. We contacted our principal and gave them all the evidence of all of the hurtful things she has said in the past. Eventually it even got up to the university she chose to attend. It even was trending on our schools social media pages that were secretly run by students. 

So hopefully from that she learned what is not acceptable to say/do in society but I think as more and more influential people are getting called out for things like this “uncomfortable” conversations are being brought up. People are having these uncomfortable conversations because they want things to change and the only way of doing that is by talking first. One example of something being brought up is how celebrities are being held accountable for doing blackface or saying hateful things towards or about black people. 

Lastly I think now that we have iPhones and social media is becoming more prominent in society, people are learning how to act in certain situations. For example there was this black lady who was shopping in Victoria's Secret and she exhibited some nasty behavior. She tried to attack the black lady and then was screaming that she was the victim. Now the white lady

never got arrested but oh did the internet cancel her. People were trying to make sure she lost everything. They were not happy with how she acted and we only got to see what really happened because the black woman recorded it for her safety. In this case the lady didn’t get any legal consequences like getting arrested but she will now be known as “The Victoria Secret Karen”.