When do personal or private matters become matters of legitimate public concern?
Personal or private matters become matters of legitimate public concern when they affect the public. A personal or private matter should only concern the public if the public is involved in any way. If it doesn't, then the public shouldn't be concerned about the issue. When the government was deciding whether or not to abolish slavery, the decision would've had a strong effect on the public. Slave owners were concerned about the decision since it would affect all of them. If slavery was abolished, it would cost more money for the slave owners to get their jobs done. If slavery wasn't abolished, then slave owners would continue to get richer since they still wouldn't need to pay slaves for their work.