Let’s stop playing dumb.
What’s happening during public comment at L.A. City Council meetings isn’t democracy in action. It’s not civic engagement. It’s not some noble defense of the First Amendment.
It’s abuse.
Weekly, taxpayer-funded, on-the-record abuse.
Slurs like the N-word, C-word, B-word, F-word, and every hateful epithet you can think of are hurled—casually, viciously, and on repeat—at councilmembers, staff, and anyone else in the room. And we’re supposed to protect that as “free speech”?
Wild how bold people get when there’s a microphone, a timer, and security present.
No. Hate speech isn’t free speech. It’s psychological violence masquerading as civic duty.
The First Amendment was not designed to protect the right to weaponize the N-word at a public meeting just because someone showed up on time and filled out a speaker card.
Councilmembers recently floated a proposal to place some limits on the use of slurs during public comment. Not a ban on dissent. Not censorship. Just basic human decency.
And what was the public’s response?
Even more slurs. Louder. Nastier. Delivered with the kind of smug certainty that only exists when people believe the system will protect them, no matter what filth they spew.
Now, some folks will say, “It’s only a handful of gadflies doing this.”
Well, guess what? A handful is too damn many.
Because it only takes one person with a microphone and no moral compass to turn a public meeting into a hostile environment. And when we let them do it week after week? That’s not just tolerance—it’s complicity.
It’s not lost on some of us that some of these folks are feigning mental illness. They aren’t there to participate in civic life. They’re there fishing for a city-sponsored payday. They’re daring the city to respond, hoping they’ll get tossed so they can file a lawsuit and scream “violation of my rights.”
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Hate speech isn’t free speech. It’s psychological violence masquerading as civic duty.
But what about our rights?
The right to feel safe in a public space.
The right to work without abuse.
The right to participate in government without needing therapy afterward.
Let’s be clear—no one signs up for this. Not councilmembers. Not the staff. Not the residents in the audience. Not the folks watching from home.
This is hate speech and workplace abuse, and it’s being greenlit by inaction.
And while we’re on it: where’s that brilliant legal brainpower the city attorney’s office magically taps into for other things? You know, the Olympic-level legal gymnastics we break out when a developer wants to bend a zoning rule or a bad landlord needs cover? Funny how we can contort the law for profit and power, but when it’s about protecting people from hate speech, suddenly everyone’s hands are tied.
Give me a break.
Here’s the other truth no one wants to say out loud: this environment doesn’t just harm the people on the horseshoe. It drives the public away.
Who wants to show up to a city meeting if there’s a real chance they’ll be verbally assaulted? Who’s bringing their kids to witness democracy if the room turns into a slur-filled circus by the second speaker?
This toxic culture discourages community engagement. It silences people without ever cutting off their mic. And how is that democracy?
The only reason this continues is because L.A. has a long, well-documented history of tolerating anti-Blackness—especially when it’s wrapped in procedural language and public policy.
If one person’s so-called “freedom” relies on scaring, traumatizing, or dehumanizing everyone else out of the room—then that’s not free speech. That’s strategic harm.
It’s not brave.
It’s not righteous.
And it’s definitely not democratic.
It’s cowardice with a mic. And it’s time we unplug it.
#1: Armando Herman, known for uttering racist, misogynist and anti-gay language at council meetings, displays a hand-drawn swastika at City Hall in 2023. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
#2: Wayne Spindler (in hood) submitted a City Council speaker’s card (left inset) on May 11 covered with racist language and images directed at Council President Herb Wesson. Spindler often wears a KKK mask and delivers threatening comments and notes (right bottom insert) during City Council meetings (Los Angeles Sentinel)
