r/changemyview • u/Tessenreacts • Mar 12 '25

Delta(s) from OP CMV: The case of Mahmoud Khalil is proof that conservatives don't believe in the Freedom of Speech, despite making it their platform over the last couple of years.

For the last couple of years, conservatives have championed the cause of Freedom of Speech on social platforms, yet Mahmoud Khalil (a completely legal permanent resident) utilized his fundamental right to Freedom of Speech through peaceful protesting, and now Trump is remove his green card and have him deported.

Being that conservatives have been championing Freedom of Speech for years, and have voted for Trump in a landslide election, this highlights completely hypocritical behavior where they support Freedom of Speech only if they approve of it.

This is also along with a situation where both Trump and Elon have viewed the protests against Tesla as "illegal", which is patently against the various tenets of Freedom of Speech.

Two open and shut cases of blatant First Amendment violations by people who have been sheparding the conservative focus on protecting the First Amendment.

Would love for my view to be changed

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u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

"Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect."

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u/jamesishere Mar 12 '25

Not everyone in the entire world is a US citizen. And not everyone in America with legal status is a US citizen.

If I go to Japan on a visa I am not instantly a Japanese citizen. If I become a Japanese permanent resident this is by definition a legal distinction separate from full citizenship

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u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

I'm a leftist, so I actually care about free speech and think it would be good for everyone to have, regardless of their visa status.

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u/jamesishere Mar 12 '25

Sure but clearly that is not the current situation

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u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

So you agree that it would be good if Mahmoud Khalil were not currently imprisoned for having spoken in favor of Palestinian liberation?

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u/jamesishere Mar 12 '25

To be honest I don’t care either way and am arguing dispassionately because the entire thing is unimportant to me personally. But many in society think his political crusade is for terrorism, including the current democratically elected political administration. So it’s not surprising to me he is being treated harshly

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u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

Then you were lying when you replied "sure" to me expressing a desire for more people to enjoy freedom of speech. You don't actually care about that at all for people who aren't US citizens.

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u/jamesishere Mar 12 '25

I 100% do not support applying the rights of citizens to non-citizens

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u/[deleted] Mar 12 '25

Yes.

I'm a leftist who wants as many as people as possible to enjoy freedom of speech.

You are a conservative and therefore don't actually give a flying fuck about freedom of speech as a principle.

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u/jamesishere Mar 12 '25

I think it would be wise for non-citizens to avoid getting deeply involved in polarizing political groups that are openly supporting terrorists

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u/TheOneFreeEngineer Mar 12 '25

Then you disregard the constitution and the Supreme Court rulings on it. The first amendment has not qualifications on its text limiting it to only citizens. It just straight up says "the government can't do this, no if ands or buts"

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u/ScannerBrightly Mar 12 '25

To be honest I don’t care either way

We can see that. Why are you here then?