I remember when we just ignored people we didn’t agree with.

The "right to not be offended" is bad enough, but what's worse is that they think it's fine to offend us, it's only what offends THEM they believe should be banned! It's narcissistic hypocrisy!

Mike Rowe 2024!! How many times we must say it!? America is calling, Mr. Rowe!

Someone who tries to stifle the speech of others is someone who wants to control others and/or is afraid of differing opinions because they're not convinced theirs is correct.

"Counter speech is not shouting someone down..." EXACTLY!

"You're not actually safer for knowing less about the world." Perfect ending to a great interview!

Another good quote is “the more I learn, the more I realise how much I don’t know” to keep you humble

Mike rowe will always be a notable figure in my book

Free Speech Equals "We can agree to disagree and still be friends!" You Still Matter... A Lot!

Agree to disagree has been the original point of freedom of speech. Listening to each view point, regardless if you agree..shows respect. Mike; keep rocking the free world.

I saw this starting 24 or more years ago in comment sections online. I could not believe that I had to tell people that they don't have a right to not be offended. Now they have weaponized it into prosecuting people for it.

The right to say what you say also includes your opponent's right to refute it.

From a veteran it is so sickening to see people get attacked for free speech

I'm glad I grew up in the 80s and 90s. No BS no social media no cell phones. No feelings to worry about. Comedy has gotten hit hard by having to watch what you say about or joke about things.

Let's get back to having respect and manners. Intelligent conversation goes a long way.

My grandmother who was born 1903 used tell me the 2 ears and 1 mouth all the time growing up. But she also said to walk in someone shoes before you judge or condemn and make your own decisions not to let someone make them for you. After 50 great years in skilled trades it has served me well and if you do something you love it's never work to this day I never look at the clock except to make sure I'm not late.

I want people to feel free to speak their minds, I want them to have an opinion. When you stop them from talking, you do not stop them from thinking, al you do is drive it underground. And when you drive an idea underground, it grows. People like having forbidden knowledge. Being able to say "the state wants to silence me" is a wonderful promotional line

Mr. Rowe is on my Mount Rushmore of podcasters. And he always has the right questions for those he interviews.

Keep it POLITICALLY INCORRECT BaBy!!😁👊😁

"the right to not be offended" The ability to not be offended resides inside of US. It is our ability to "IGNORE" instead of becoming offended. Ecclesiastes 7:9 "Do not be quick to take offense, for the taking of offense lodges in the bosom of fools."

AMEN!!!!! I try to be polite, simply on principle, but that's never stopped me from expressing my opinion.

In about 2002 Salman Rushdie said "You don't have a right not to be offended." And that was on NPR. I think it was an interview on Talk of the Nation, one of their best shows. It's always been true. It's true now, and the fact that they are trying to defeat truth is why everyone is miserable and everything is falling apart.

We've been supporters of F.I.R.E. for years. Their school rankings are very informative.

We have the right to free speech, but now everything seems to be made as "hate or racist speech" if someone doesn't like your opinion. So where does that leave us with having free speech?

Free speech also requires accountability, should not applicable to media companies hiding behind a phalanx of attorneys. It’s nice in theory to say that we have freedom of speech but we don’t have equal access.

Agree 100%. There is no such thing as "the right to not be offended." Cancel Culture has done more harm than good. Free speech-whether you like what someone is saying or not-is a guaranteed right by our constitution. So, we have to respect that right regardless of the uses of it. As a wise line in a movie noted, free speech isn't just about defending the flag, it's also about defending the right to burn that flag in effigy. If we truly want our country to be enlightened and edified, then the key is to express that right using wisdom and consideration. We all need to just take a chill pill and get back to some of the emotionally, mentally, and physically healthier choices that made this country great in the first place. We can all start by listening in order to understand, rather than tolerating in order to shut out. 💖

We’ve followed you for many years, my husband and I feel Mike that you should run for President. You should know this country pretty well.

Our speech , our vocabulary has been hijacked.

In my life i lost almost every job i had because i offended someone with my use of free speech .My response has always been thanks now i can get a better job that pays more .Your loss of my skills will cost you more than me losing this job . Have a nice day .

Since no one knows ALL…We do not live for reality, we live foe our fantasies. Enjoy yours, but don’t force yours on others.

"You're not actually safer for knowing less about the world". Pretty on point. I've always said that defending speech of people we not only disagree with, but who may have what we consider absolutely disgusting opinions, is more important than protecting speech we love and agree with.

I cannot even express how much I agree with this. We are losing the right to free speech. And the fragility of those who prioritize being offended. This is the underpinning to our extreme political situation. Thanks for fighting for it for us all!

As a retired tenured faculty member at Stanford (and an alumnus of the University), I completely agree with you. The idea that anyone- who presumes to be educated, or desires to be an attorney- has the right, let alone the responsibility to assure that a point of view may not be heard- must be strongly repudiated. It is is important to note that despite a strong statement by the dean, apparently none of the demonstrating students received any form of penalty for their actions.

Tyranny does not go away thru debate.

Cant wait for the Fire Festival!!!❤

@7:45 "causing this community" Ahhhhh these are law students. Who are going to practice law. Which scares the hell out of me.

Best part about it was "People bring their twitter persona to real life" and yeah... remember people "Congress shall make no law..." a school telling you not to scream and chant when a speaker is talking isn't violating your right to free speech.

THANKS MIKE

My Mee-maw used to wax profoundly from time to time. (We haven't heard from her since she died.) One of my favorites applies to the arrogance of the populace today. She'd wag her finger at obvious puffery and say, "Don't get so full of yerself that there's no room for the Holy Ghost."

Wow! Thanks for clearing the air once again Mike!

Thank you Mike👍🏼

I recall a time while attending university when it was welcoming to attend lectures by orators with differing points of view. It helped strengthen one’s belief system and rarely changed it.

We are on FIRE!!!! RFK jr, Bobby has been winning cases for this every day. RFK jr 2024

Well done again Mike! Thank you for your amazing work!

Well said, great interview 👍

Amen, Amen and AMEN!

Amen! ❤🎉

more people need to share this

Excellent! Go FIRE

God bless you Mike

Too true...

I appreciate Greg's positive, cheerful attitude in the current state of this country. He is uplifting and hopeful. I needed to hear him. Mike you have always bern an encourager too. Praise YaH for men like you still standing for our Country. 🙌🏻YaH bless you both. YaH bless America. YaH bless us everyone. 🙏🏻🇺🇸🎈

You nailed it Mike!

Well said, Mike! Thanks. :)

Oh my god the number of times I push back on certainty. People are certain of the most bizarre and unknowable things and will defend it to the end for no reason and with no basis. It's amazing.

The whole dang country has things all twisted up. Oh I could go into a rant about so many things that people have doubts standards about what someone one else did, buy they see nothing wrong with anything they do themselves. The list is too long to even get started on, because then if you stand up for your rights, which happens to be what the country was based upon, then your pounded into the ground and called prejudice and worse. Yet those who are the guilty of prejudice is the ones pounding everyone else saying they are the ones. It's maddening beyond words that things have gotten to the point that it has, and it's only going to get far worse long before it ever gets close to being better for everyone

Agree 100%

Stay Awesome Mike !!!!!!

Thank you

Well said...

People need to learn the old adage "Opinions are like a$$holes, everybody has one." Doesn't mean you turn into one because of a difference of opinion.

Once again, 'free speech' is about speech that you do not like. It's just not that hard. Thank you Mike and Greg!

Left or right, if someone says they're offended, I always replace that in my head with "I can't defeat your logic and I'm angry that you won't believe me without evidence".

I would always want to know what people think and want and the only way to really know that is via free speech. I want to know who is hateful or wants Marxist agendas in government. I want to know what people really think about other people. Silent people never reveal their true intentions. It’s better to know who the threat is. Or know who believes in our Constitution and Bill of Rights. Good and bad can only be known when everyone can freely express themselves. Social media has become the primary source of information for our society. They have taken advantage of this and are currently silencing people who express different opinions. If a company wants to operate in our nation’s borders then they need to respect our Constitution. Social media took advantage of us and pushed it to an illegal level when they worked with federal agencies to suppress free speech. Both the government and the media are in violation of our 1st Amendment. They need to be sanctioned.

I remember when the debating teams prepared for war, duked it out in the prescribed manner, took no prisoners and arguments were judged. Then victors and vanquished retired to the bar and celebrated the competition of debate. And basically obliterated themselves for the evening.

Mike tour pod casts r always good

Mike, you are who i want as president.

Wiah I could thumbs up this 1000x

How much easier is it to take away Rights from someone who doesn't know they have them?

Thanks

By throwing the phrase "hate or racist " are supposed to give them the power to shut you up.

Hey Mikey! I like this podcast very much. Great content and subject matter. Mikey for California Governor! Cheers, Mate.

Well said

Truth I just that.

So, this situation sounds like they need to revise their rules for meetings and order at Stanford. If you want it to be a socratic discussion so that you can learn from a speaker, then use rules of order that govern that intent. If you want an open meeting then inform the guest that it is an open meeting. Sounds to me like Stanford's event organizers really dropped the ball here.

Free speech & other rights, once widely enjoyed in most 1st world countries has been steadily & subtly taken from us for decades. It was carefully orchestrated by people with a much larger agenda. Defectors from the USSR warned that communist ideology & division is being sown in schools & universities throughout the world. That was in the 80s! Society is in trouble. On a side note, if law students dont learn to debate & listen to things they find unpleasant in the classroom how do they expect to do their job in the courtroom. The ability to calmly debate is paramount to success in the courtroom. Without a radical shift in power our society as we know it is done. Read the gulag Archipelago. That is our future on this current trajectory.

Masterpiece Theater - World On Fire....history always repeats itself as German Cancellor Otto von Bismark famously said, "what we learn from history, is that no one learns from history."

I know it is a Dirty Job, but we need leadership. You would have my vote.

Mike Rowe is starting to look like a presidential candidate..... 😂 MIKE ROWE FOR PRESIDENT¡! 😄👍

I noticed a lot of communication discord during the days of "hanging chads" and "disenfranchisement." People sure did take sides.

What the heck ever happened to we agree to disagree on some subjects? To letting a person present their opinion then being able to give a rebuttal to their statement.

The internet has become the ambulance in the saying; "A Lawyer chasing an ambulance." In some states it looks like that is illegal. I think the term is barratry.

Mike Rowe is simply the best..period

I found that the music playing while they were speaking a bit distracting. To me it added an overtone that didnt quite match what was being said.

I like this

Slander is not protected speech. The truth must be preserved.

Thank you for your work Mr Rowe. Your scholarship put a friend’s kid into trade school.

Nice.

The preamble to the Bill of Rights states clearly that the intention of the BoR was to keep the government from "Misconstruction or abuse of authority." Any compromise to the BoR is allowing them to do just that.

What an eloquent, concise speaker this guest is.

Excellent!!! What happened to agreeing to disagree agreeably?

I’ll never forget when Phil Robertson (I hope im remembering his name correctly) from Duck Dynasty was “cancelled” for his comments about traditional marriage. This was when the “cancel culture” first manifested in its current iteration. I said then that he should be able to express his opinion without losing his job, and my liberal friends responded with “we have freedom of speech, but that doesn’t mean you are free from consequences”. I knew then that they were twisting things. What “consequences” are appropriate for free speech? It seems to me that the “consequences” rarely fit the “crime” these days, but they’re using this against us and against free speech, bc can you say speech is free when you can say one thing the mob doesn’t agree with, or deems “hateful”, and the consequences for doing so is that they dox you, come for your job, your livelihood, your reputation, and your legacy? Those aren’t “consequences for free speech”, those are punishments for diversity of thought, and I’m sick of it. There’s no freedom of speech when your government uses private actors to silence you, but that’s different than what I’m talking about (albeit just as bad if not worse), I’m talking about when your neighbors will align against you in a malicious way bc you said something they disliked, and by “neighbors” I mean anyone who comes in contact with what you said. It used to be that the damage could be contained, that one could only be “punished” by a few ppl if they didn’t like what you had to say. Now, however, it’s global, and bc so many ppl can be reached, their voices are amplified in ways we’ve never seen before. The only thing that can possibly temper cancel culture, I think, is the fact that it eats its own. NO ONE can say ANYTHING without risking offending SOMEONE, so eventually all of these ppl will piss someone off. The only real question is how much we lose between now and then. It’s disgusting.

If there is a group of people who want to keep you from speaking, should they even be allowed to discuss the merits of censoring you?

Mike Rowe is a legend!

Basic communications: Speaking and listening. Old and retired, it just seems who talks the fastest and /or the loudest, wins. So, where is the dialog to understanding. My nightmare is having been the boss, and asking a group of supervisors for feedback about what worked or what did not work in a project, and getting dead silence!

I used to crush on Mike. Now it's all out LOVE. ❤😂

Thx Mike!

Mike, happy birthday. It's mine as well.

Universities have become unrecognizable. It's a shame.

Freedom of speech means we have already preaccepted *_ANY_* reaction to our own action, and that alone is needed in order for us to pick our battles. It's so important to own our actions and the more we do that, the more we will make sure we are doing something right because we have to care if we are to stand up for something. We need less safespaces because or else the younger one's will never know how to take a kick to the teeth and get back up again. This safespace mindset only creates weak people, and weak is a choice. This is why the only choice available should be to fight and do something for oneself, because that's the only thing that will make your life better. Safespaces are made so that people should give up, which to me is tragic.