But free speech is a check on government, protecting the rights of the individual—a byproduct of the Enlightenment. It does not include Gerber’s decision whether to market its strained spinach on a particular network. Nor does free speech render one immune from repercussions in the marketplace.

It is therefore easier for the status quo to debate the methodology of the protestors than it is to grapple with the reason for their discontent. We don’t like it when the Bob Dylan demographic flexes its otherwise nihilistic muscles.