The A.C.L.U. Needs to Rethink Free Speech

This article is confusing. It seems incredibly vague and tries to contextualize everything in terms of right and left. And it doesn't argue for any specific policy.

This quote is especially baffling:

"A black kid who gets thrown in jail for possessing a small amount of marijuana will face consequences that will directly affect his ability to have a voice in public life. How does the A.C.L.U.’s conception of free speech address that?"

What does race have to do with it? How would this be addressed by the first amendment? Crimes need lesser sentences because people who commit crimes have less "power" to speak?

> Left-wing academics across the country face this kind of speech suppression, yet they do not benefit from a strong, uniform legal response.

Well, there's hardly any other kind: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/oct/6/liberal-profe...

But I'm sure if you explain that conservatives are less interested in academia, and that's the cause of the disparity, not discrimination, everything will work out splendidly.