I have a dilemma that's causing me stress. I'm the principal at a small, private high school in Milwaukee. One of my students posted something on social media outside of school hours that other students found offensive—a meme that mocked a classmate's religion. The mocked student's parents want the poster expelled. The poster's parents say it's free speech and the school has no jurisdiction over what happens off-campus. I'm stuck. I believe in free expression. I also believe schools should be safe for everyone. The posting student isn't a bully—he's a good kid who made a thoughtless joke. The offended student is genuinely hurt and now afraid to come to school. Where does free speech end and harm begin? How do I teach accountability without crushing a 16-year-old for one mistake? — Caught in the Middle in Milwaukee
Free speech and community harm. John Stuart Mill's liberty meets Confucius' social harmony.
I have a dilemma that's causing me stress. I'm the principal at a small, private high school in Milwaukee. One of my students posted something on social media outside of school hours that other students found offensive—a meme that mocked a classmate's religion. The mocked student's parents want the poster expelled. The poster's parents say it's free speech and the school has no jurisdiction over what happens off-campus. I'm stuck. I believe in free expression. I also believe schools should be safe for everyone. The posting student isn't a bully—he's a good kid who made a thoughtless joke. The offended student is genuinely hurt and now afraid to come to school. Where does free speech end and harm begin? How do I teach accountability without crushing a 16-year-old for one mistake? — Caught in the Middle in Milwaukee
Unknown
"The only freedom deserving the name is pursuing our own good without harming others"
45 votes
Confucius
"Cultivate virtue in yourself before seeking to change others"
49 votes
94 votes total
Full Positions
"The only freedom deserving the name is pursuing our own good without harming others"
The truth emerges from the clash of ideas, but this was not a clash of ideas—it was mockery. The harm principle applies: your freedom ends where another's harm begins. The question is proportionality. Education, not expulsion. Accountability, not destruction.
From The Sayings of Confucius: A New Translation of the Greater Part of the Confucian Analects
"Cultivate virtue in yourself before seeking to change others"
The family is the foundation of society, and the school is an extension of family. Both students need teaching, not punishment. The mocker must understand how his words affected another. The mocked must be shown that the community protects its members. Harmony requires both accountability and reconciliation.