I appreciated that Matthew and Eric wanted to scientifically investigate both of the claims levelled against their debate; that it offended minorities, and that it normalised far-right beliefs. Unsurprisingly their surveys turned up nothing of significant value and as the Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said:
Fear of serious injury cannot alone justify suppression of free speech and assembly. Men feared witches and burnt women. It is the function of speech to free men from the bondage of irrational fears. To justify suppression of free speech, there must be reasonable ground to fear that serious evil will result if free speech is practiced.
I would argue that even taking seriously a person’s capacity to be offended is dubious, but they tackled this later in the piece by referencing The Coddling of the American Mind and pointing out the distortions of catastrophising, dichotomous thinking, and emotional reasoning.
Definitely recommend this as something worth 20 minutes of your time.