The Hell You Say Sanneh

The Hell You Say: Critical Analysis In this article originally published in the New Yorker, Kelefa Sanneh is giving us a very objective view of free speech and the two sides to it. He points out that on one side the liberals are arguing that there should be some kind of limit put on it so that people don’t get offended. On the other hand conservatives are arguing that free speech is one of our most fundamental rights and there should be no restrictions placed on it. He illustrates the arguments made by the two sides but fails to make an argument of his own and write a coherent essay. He's writing about the ideas very objectively which to an extent confuses the reader and leaves them wondering what to think. The article starts off with an incident that occurred at Fitzgerald’s, an Irish pub in Chapel Hill near the campus of the University of North Carolina. The DJ had been playing the song “Blurred Lines” by Robin Thicke and one of the customers at the pub felt that the song promoted rape culture due to some of the lyrics and asked that the song be skipped. However, the DJ denied her request and the patron and her supporters took to social media to give their account and say that the pub is promoting rape culture. Their popularity caused the …show more content…
However, in trying to maintain pure objectivity, Sanneh becomes complicated and confusing. For lack of a better term, all over the place. He perfectly describes the events that took place and the statements that people provided from both sides of the debate, liberal and illiberal. Yet he fails to remain coherent in his findings or make an argument for either side which leaves the reader having to read it multiple times to properly interpret the