ARE WE FREE TO VIOLATE OTHERS WITH OUR SPEECH?

The first amendment to our constitution prohibits the making of any law abridging the freedom of speech.  The supreme court has clarified the extent of the protection for free speech.  This applies only to speech against the government and more recently has been broadened to allow for more political dissent.  Of significance lately is concern about protests on college campuses that are against certain speakers that the students disagree with.  This has involved violence at times.  The concern is that the stuent protests will have the impact of supressing free speech. This then has led to concern about any effort to restrict speech such as those who are spreading hate comments on the internet and those who bully others on the internet via social media. There has been increasing concern expressed about bullying as it is connected to increased risk of suicide [many studies indicate an increased risk for suicide in children and adolescents who are being bullied although it is difficult to be precise about the impact of bullying on suicides].  So is it free speech vs increased risk of suicide?  Or is it free speech vs chronic stress traumatizing our brain cells that can lead to cell death. [This will be clarified below.]

Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, a professor of psychology at Northeastern University, wrote an opinion piece in the July 16, 2017 edition of the New York Times, entitled: "When is Speech Violence?' She makes the point that some speech is abusive while other speech is offensive but not abusive.  She considers bullying to be abusive as well as when people trade insults with each other over and over. Dr. Barrett considers prejudiced and judgmental views to be offensive but not abusive as these views do not create a prolonged stress for people and therefore do not trigger brain reactions that can be destructive.  It is like the difference between acute, temporary stress where the brain copes without leading to any damage to the brain.  On the other hand, abusive stresses lead to prolonged stress in people who are traumatized by these speech patterns and this leads to challenges to their immune systems that can compromise their DNA and even lead to neuron [brain cell] death. This repetitive abusive speech can lead to someone developing a post traumatic stress disorder [PTSD]. They often cope by blaming themselves and trying to keep things from getting worse. This on going stress reaction damages their immune systems. In addition, since they feel hopeless and like they have no control over their lives, they are at risk for suicidal behavior.

So, some speech is violent in the way other people respond to it. The abusive nature of the speech seems connected to it being repetitive and ongoing even if intermittant. So, free speech would not seem to include this type of speech.  What do you think?