There is no difference. Speech is a medium of expression nothing else, and it's not just about VOCAL expression. Arts and litrature also falls under freedom of speech.
So what is your take on Satanic verses & Danish cartoons then? Do you believe that they had a right to express their feelings via this medium? How about Nazi litrature and white superiority movements like KKK? Don't you think that they also have a right to promote their hatred?
I have no problems with Danish cartoons or the book Satanic verses, infact we are the ones who have made these two things famous otherwise on its own merit these would have gone in week or two. Both of these are not asking you to go out and start killing people or look down on them, in fact both are exclusively work of fiction. and have been declared such.
KKK and white superiority is whole different ball game, as they intice people to be voilent against a certain faction. If KKK was making just fun of people then its Ok, killing people on race superiority is wrong from every angle. Same as talibans are spreading hate. By saying this I definately am not saying that American are doing any good.