SISSY CELINE

“The danger isn’t just in the radical slogans chanted in the streets—it’s in the covert forms of incitement that slip under the radar. Anyone can see through a Molotov cocktail. But what about the whispered accusation of “racist” or “fascist” thrown without evidence? What about the caricatures that reduce whole groups of people to villains? This is incitement, too. It doesn’t call for violence outright, but it paints a target. It appeals not to reason, but to raw emotion, stirring up resentment and fear until someone else does the dirty work.

And here’s the hypocrisy: the same people who tell us “words are violence” use words like daggers, stripping others of their dignity, safety, and reputation. They inflame mobs with stereotypes while pretending they’re only “raising awareness.” That is weaponized language. That is violence by proxy.

The law sets a high bar for incitement, and rightly so—we don’t want free speech smothered. But when accusations are flung with reckless disregard for truth, when people are branded and dehumanized, the moral responsibility is clear. This is not debate. It is the slow erosion of civilization under the acid of slander.

If goodness means anything, it must include the courage to name this behavior for what it is—and to refuse to tolerate it. Tolerance is not infinite. To excuse covert incitement is to invite overt violence. And at that point, it is no longer free speech. It is sabotage.”