Post by K'Sennia Visitor on Aug 25, 2020 2:02:35 GMT
Shane Lochlan Black, my favorite Kboards troll (I say, "troll" with affection) has another fun thread, this time on free speech and censorship. I think it was really nice of Becca to keep it open, but he's trying really hard to get it closed, so I'm sure it will be locked soon.
I think free speech is actually an important topic. You know the whole, "I deeply resent you for saying that, but I'll die for your right to say that," sentiment seems to be dying down, in the US, anyway. I think that as we get more and more liberal socially that the notion of free speech becomes less important to folks.
If it's a choice between people being treated like human beings and being able to hang out in a place without being denigrated or mocked or having their humanity or existence challenged then I think most progressive people will choose making people feel respected.
If a message board poster, or a famous children's book author, decides that trans identities are not legitimate, and they strongly believe/refuse to believe that people are the gender they say they are - then free speech becomes more akin to bullying, and in recent years bullying and harassment are being taken much more seriously.
So sure, the transphobe is free to spout their transphobic shit, but if they come into a progressive space where the moderators have decided they wish trans people to feel safe and respected, the transphobe's freeze peach will not be welcomed and will be removed.
This isn't censorship since only a government can censor things, and the first amendment only refers to censorship when it's a government doing it. Although, child porn is totally censored, even when no children are involved in it at all, and you can't shout "fire" in a crowded building, and anymore people's social media posts are being looked at more closely, and bullying/harassment/threatening to kill people can get you locked up.
Did y'all (speaking to my imaginary audience here) hear about Michelle Carter?
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/02/12/suicide-texting-case-michelle-carter-sent-jail-boyfriend-death/2845131002/
Her boyfriend was very suicidal, had attempted to take his own life many times, and after he and Michelle (His name was Conrad Roy) started text-dating, he started telling her how he wanted to end it all. At first Michelle did the right thing and told him not to and that he should get help, but after he asked her not to try and talk him out of it anymore, and to support his wishes, she went all gungho on helping him do it. Looking up methods, sending him instructions, asking him constantly if today was the day he was going to do it, and getting mad when he hadn't. Conrad did eventually go through with it, after Michelle says he got out of the truck that he'd rigged with carbon monoxide. She was on the phone with him and she told him to get back in, and he did.
Michelle ended up being arrested and sent to prison for a few months.
I don't know if that was a good call or not. There was a huge precedent being set there. On the one hand I think it's a good step to take cyber bullying more seriously. You should never tell a vulnerable person, or any person to end their own life. And certainly not repeatedly. In Michelle's case, she was dealing with her own mental health issues, and it's debatable how responsible she was for her actions. Did she truly understand what she was doing? I don't know.
But I do think it's good for us all to learn to take what we say more seriously, as well as how we say it because real people's lives are at stake, and sometimes we don't know how seriously our words can be taken.
On the other hand, I do think that people can go overboard sometimes with not wanting to ever be criticized or disagreed with. When I started this board I was super annoyed at Kboards for refusing to allow a lot of conversations to be had, banning certain topics, words, etc. So I think I prefer more freedom, but a lawless space where people can say whatever they want will turn into a very mean-spirited, hellhole if you allow it to. There has to be balance. A totally free world is a dystopia where everyone has to carry a gun to protect themselves, and if you don't shoot first you die.
Words aren't just words. Just like feelings aren't some ephemeral thing that only women suffer from. Words are action, and feelings can be just as potent as a bullet wound. I feel like society is changing and is coming to realize these things, which means that words become weapons and emotional damage is treated as seriously as physical damage. Which I guess means that our words should be as free as any other actions we take. There are rules regarding everything else we do, so why not our speech?
What do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Have anything to add to the discussion?