On Tuesday’s broadcast “The Arena with Michael Coren” on Canada’s Sun Network, conservative commentator Mark Steyn underscored the importance of free speech.

Steyn referenced Salman Rushdie’s difficulties after his 1988 publication of “The Satanic Verses,” which put him in danger of retribution by actors of radical Islam.

“[Rushdie] is absolutely right when he says all those fellows say, ‘I’m in favor of free speech, but.. I’m in favor of free speech, but…’” Steyn said. “I’ve heard all the ‘buts’ since I’ve gotten into all the trouble with the human rights commission here a few years back. And the point is that free speech is the stuff that’s after the ‘but.’ It’s for the stuff that’s insensitive. It’s for the stuff that’s offensive. It’s for the stuff that’s revolting. You don’t need free speech for the Barney the Dinosaur-approved regulated opinions within polite bounds. And sometimes it’s the stuff that’s after the ‘but’ that gets things changed.”

Steyn went on to point to major social changes in America as being things that were politically incorrect after that so-called “but” to back-up his point.

(h/t The Right Scoop)

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