Chalk it up to bigotry: The weaponization of “free speech” in America

If you don’t know me, you might not know that I'm passionate about advocating for the protection of the rights and liberties of the American people. Specifically, my focus has been the protection of our public lands, but recently, the conversation around free speech has been on the forefront of my mind.

That’s why I’ve been paying such close attention to the recent battles over free speech. On the surface and maybe in a vacuum, these fights may seem small. Oh, it’s just paint on a road, just chalk on a sidewalk, just a flag on a wall of granite. But look closer, and you’ll see a much bigger story about hypocrisy, hatred, and selective “protection” of speech. And it's something we should all be very, very concerned about.

So, what’s been going on?

• In Orlando, Florida, a rainbow crosswalk memorializing the 49 lives lost in the Pulse nightclub massacre was painted over by state workers. When community members came out to redraw the memorial with chalk, conservatives called them “criminals,” and now police line the streets, threatening to arrest anyone who dares to chalk the road.

  
  

• In Walla Walla, Washington, a man notorious for chalking sidewalks with racist, homophobic, and conspiratorial messages is defended as exercising “free speech.” When the city introduced an ordinance to issue fines to anyone who doesn’t clear their chalk by sunset, conservatives threw a fit and claimed a breach of First Amendment rights.

  
  

• In Yosemite, Ranger SJ Joslin was allegedly fired after flying a trans pride flag on El Capitan, despite the fact that climbers have displayed banners for decades without punishment, they didn’t break any rules or laws at the time, and no damage was done.

One honors victims of violence and is deemed criminal. One spews hate and is deemed worthy of protection. One expresses pride and identity and is deemed unlawful. Two expressions of love and support for the queer community are treated as criminal or controversial, while the hateful and bigoted is shielded under the guise of free speech.

This isn’t about “free speech.” It’s about power. It’s about whose voices are amplified and whose are erased.

Example 1: Orlando conservatives claim vandalism against locals using chalk to memorialize innocent lives lost

The rainbow crosswalk outside Pulse nightclub wasn’t just paint. It was a living memorial. It honored the 49 LGBTQ+ people murdered in the 2016 shooting and stood as a symbol of pride, remembrance, and resilience.

This August, the Florida Department of Transportation painted it over, citing a new policy requiring “uniformity” on state roads and banning “political or ideological” markings. Officials claimed it was about road safety, but few were fooled. For the LGBTQ+ community in Orlando and beyond, many see it clearly for what it is: An act of erasure.

Locals rushed to reclaim the space with chalk, redrawing the rainbow on the street. Of course, conservatives were in an uproar about this, and police now line the streets. Of course, of course, of course.

Image source: NBC News

Here’s what conservatives have to say in this instance, when it comes to a message of love and support for innocent lives lost: 

• Chalk = vandalism

• Messages of remembrance for lives lost = political ideology 

• Political ideology = not protected under the First Amendment

• People who are chalking = criminals who deserve to be arrested

• People who are upset about the crosswalk being erased = sensitive snowflakes

Now, let’s see if this same logic and outrage hold up in another part of the country where another man is chalking public spaces, shall we? (Spoiler alert: It doesn’t)

Example 2: Walla Walla conservatives defend hate speech written in chalk

I want to start by saying: I love Walla Walla. I’ve spent so much time there, I have family there, and I know so many amazing, thoughtful, caring people who call it home. It’s a city I care deeply about, and like so many places in America, it has a complicated political identity. It’s both progressive and conservative, creative and entrenched, welcoming and resistant to change.

That tension shows up, oddly enough, on the sidewalks. For years, a man known locally as “Chalk Guy” has scrawled hateful, conspiratorial messages across town:

• “Trans kids don’t exist”

• “LGBTQ works for Santan”

• “There are only two genders”

• “Abortion is child abuse”

• “Gun control is racist”

• And a whole bunch of racist dog whistles and anti-science COVID rants

The city has faced ongoing complaints about the damage to its downtown, but legally, their hands have been relatively tied. Because chalk is temporary and expressive, it has been treated as protected speech under the First Amendment.

“Chalk art that conveys a political message is especially protected speech, its installation on a public street or sidewalk does not violate any city or state law, and using criminal statutes to threaten those who do or would create it violates the First Amendment.” (ACLU-WA)

However, this issue was causing serious unrest in the community and alleged damage to local businesses and tourism. Given these concerns, Walla Walla passed a new ordinance requiring anyone chalking in downtown to wash their messages off by sundown or face fines. But crucially, this law is content-neutral: it applies equally to hateful messages and positive ones.

That means hateful rhetoric gets the same protection as a rainbow heart.

However, the local conservatives aren’t so happy about this.

Here’s what conservatives have to say in this instance, when it comes to hateful, violent messages directed toward our most vulnerable: 

• Chalk = harmless

• Violent and hateful anti-LBGTQ, anti-abortion, anti-trans, anti-science messages = NOT political ideology 

• Hate speech = totally protected under the First Amendment

• People who are chalking = harmless, innocent individuals

• People who are upset about the chalk messages = sensitive snowflakes

• People who want the hateful chalk erased = people who love censorship and hate America

So, to be clear: The answer is no, conservatives' disdain for chalk and freedom of expression only appears to apply to people whom they disagree with. They want rights and protections for some, but not for others. Got it.

Example 3: Park ranger fired after flying a trans pride flag

In May 2025, Yosemite Ranger SJ Joslin climbed El Capitan on their personal time and unfurled a trans pride flag — a deeply personal act of expression and visibility. Days later, the park quietly rewrote and backdated rules to ban flags in wilderness areas, despite decades of climbers hanging banners with no consequence. By August, SJ was fired.

Park leadership argued this wasn’t about identity, just about rules. But the timing makes the truth clear: SJ was punished for a trans pride flag in a park where other flags and banners were long tolerated.

Once again, the principle of “free speech” was not applied equally. Expression that uplifts marginalized people was targeted and punished.

➡️ Learn more about SJ's unjust firing here.

Hypocrisy in plain sight

Put these three stories side by side, and the hypocrisy is crystal clear.

• Florida painted over a rainbow memorial and called it “illegal.” Conservatives are up in arms about people “defacing” public property with chalk and claiming criminal vandalism. 

  
  

• Walla Walla conservatives defend hate speech written in chalk as “free speech,” claim chalk is harmless and anyone using it regardless of intent is innocent. 

  
  

• Yosemite fired a ranger for flying a trans pride flag, rewriting the rules after the fact. Conservatives claim this wasn’t an expression of free speech and should be criminalized.

  
  

Free speech isn’t the issue. Power is what we're talking about here.

Hate is tolerated. Erasure is justified. Pride and remembrance are criminalized.

But, of course, we know MAGA loves their contradictions.

• “Save the children,” but they turn a blind eye to predators in their own churches, block common-sense gun laws (the #1 killer of children is gun violence), and refuse to protect kids (and their community) with safe, effective vaccines.

• “Back the blue," but on January 6th, MAGA rioters beat police officers with flagpoles, bear spray, and fists.

• “Pro-life,” but they cut funding for maternal health, refuse paid family leave, gut social safety nets, and fight against affordable healthcare for kids.

• “Free speech defenders,” but they ban books, censor teachers, silence DEI programs, and punish students and workers who speak out.

• “Patriots,” but they stormed the Capitol, carried Confederate flags through its halls, and openly called for political violence against their fellow Americans.

• “Small government,” but they want the government to control women’s bodies, dictate what teachers can say in classrooms, and restrict who you can marry.

• “Religious freedom,” but only for their version of Christianity. They actively fight against Muslim, Jewish, and Indigenous spiritual rights.

• “Law and order,” but they worship a man facing 91 felony counts, excuse corruption at the highest levels, and cheer when their leaders break the law.

• “Family values,” but they celebrate politicians who cheat, assault, and lie, while vilifying queer families who simply want to live in peace.

• “Protect our communities,” but they block climate action even as fires, floods, and storms devastate towns across America.

• "Followers of Christ," but they abandon His teachings; ignoring the poor and the sick, refusing to welcome the stranger, persecuting neighbors instead of loving them, worshiping false idols, and glorifying violence over peace.

Hypocrites all around. Nothing new to see here.

What “free speech” really means, and why this matters so much right now

Free speech is not, and has never been, a guarantee that your message will be embraced, liked, or accepted. It simply means the government cannot censor or criminalize your expression based on its content. That’s it.

It does not mean you’re free from consequences. Every day, we see racist, bigoted, or hateful people lose their jobs, lose contracts, or lose credibility because of what they choose to say in public. That’s not a violation of free speech—that’s accountability. Free speech protects you from government censorship, not from social consequences.

It also does not mean selective protection based on political ideology. The principle is supposed to apply evenly, no matter whether the expression is popular or unpopular, progressive or conservative, affirming or offensive.

And yet, that’s not what we’re seeing right now.

What we’re seeing is not the principled defense of free expression. It’s the weaponization of free speech as a political tool.

• When rainbow memorials for innocent lives lost are erased in Orlando…

• When dedicated park rangers like SJ Joslin are fired for flying a pride flag in Yosemite…

• When hateful bigots in Walla Walla are tolerated and even defended as “free speech champions”…

…the system is showing us exactly whose voices it values, and whose it wants to silence.

And this isn’t happening in a vacuum. It’s happening against the backdrop of the MAGA movement, where Donald Trump and his allies loudly claim to be “free speech warriors” while simultaneously threatening the rights of anyone who dares to dissent.

Trump has literally called the press “the enemy of the people.” He’s suggested jail for journalists. He’s encouraged violence against protestors at his rallies. His allies are leading book bans, silencing teachers, attacking DEI initiatives, and targeting LGBTQ+ people in schools and communities.

So when conservatives call for the erasure of a memorial but defend chalk when it spews hateful messages they agree with, it’s not just hypocrisy, it’s a microcosm of a much larger strategy. The selective use of “free speech” isn’t about liberty. It’s about power. It’s about normalizing the idea that speech protections apply only to those who already hold power, while dissenting or marginalized voices can be erased, punished, or fired.

When governments criminalize chalk rainbows, erase LGBTQ+ memorials, and fire queer rangers (all while defending hate rhetoric), they’re making a choice.

They’re choosing to align with bigotry over belonging, erasure over memory.

They’re telling us that rights are not universal; they’re conditional.

And once rights become conditional, none of us are safe.

That should alarm every single American. Because if “free speech” only applies to those who parrot Trump’s ideology or reinforce conservative power, then it stops being a right and becomes a weapon. A weapon used to silence dissent and to control who we are allowed to be.

So the next time someone waves “free speech” like a shield for hate while attacking LGBTQ+ memorials or queer expression, ask:

• Who is actually being silenced here?

• Who is being protected?

Because at the end of the day, this isn’t about chalk, paint, or flags. It’s about whether our liberties and freedoms are applied equally or only when it’s politically convenient.

On a personal note

Here’s the thing I will never understand, as someone who was raised in the Christian church: Just because you don’t agree with how someone chooses to live their life, why does that mean you get to persecute them?

If they aren’t harming anyone, if their choices have no impact on your life, why do you care so deeply? Why does it matter so much to you that someone else lives differently than you do?

Although I no longer go to church, I was taught a simple command: Love your neighbor as Jesus did. And the way Jesus loved was unconditional. That means loving people always. Not only when they look like you, believe like you, or live like you. Loving them even when their life is different than yours.

But somewhere along the way, that lesson got twisted. Instead of loving our neighbors, we’ve normalized policing them. Instead of compassion, we see judgment. Instead of humility, we see self-righteousness.

It breaks my heart. Because at its core, faith is not supposed to be about control or conformity. It’s about grace. It’s about belonging. It’s about choosing love even when it’s hard, even when it challenges us.

I don’t have to understand someone’s life choices to respect them. I don’t have to agree with everything they do to treat them with dignity. I don’t have to share their path to know they are worthy of love.

That’s the part I will never understand about so much of what I see today: How quickly people abandon the very heart of the Gospel to condemn, exclude, or persecute.

In conclusion

At the end of the day, I’m not writing this because I think I have all the answers. I don’t. I’m writing it because I care. I care about this country. I care about our public lands. I care about our rights and freedoms. And I care about the people who are being pushed to the margins, silenced, and erased. I simply do not understand why others do not care.

What I see over and over again is this: Free speech, faith, and even patriotism are being twisted into weapons of control instead of tools of liberation.

They’re being used to decide who gets to belong, who gets to be remembered, and who gets to live without fear. And that should break all of our hearts.

I don’t think we were meant to live in a society where love is conditional and rights are selective. I don’t think that’s the America we want to build, or the legacy we want to leave.

My hope (and maybe it’s a naïve one) is that we can choose something better. That we can stop weaponizing free speech to excuse hate, and instead use it to make space for truth, dignity, and belonging. That we can return to the simplest, most radical command I was ever taught: love your neighbor. Even when it’s uncomfortable. Even when it’s inconvenient. Even when their life looks different than yours.

Because if we lose sight of that, if we let fear and hate dictate whose voices matter, then we lose far more than chalk on a sidewalk or paint on a road. We lose the very foundation of our democracy and the very heart of our humanity.