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| My own comments on freedom of speech from my book. by Tansin A. Darcos (TDARCOS) 10/05/2011, 6:50pm PDT | ||||
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| I have written a book called Instrument of God and if you're interested you can read the entire 3 megabyte, 740 page PDF from this link.
I have an item from page 135 of the book, about Freedom of Speech: Supervisor 246 says, "Would you like me to explain myself, ma'am?" "Yes, I would." "I'll give you the short version. He wrote something stupid, a bunch of words that say something we don't agree with. It's only words and ideas, it's not like he beat someone up, he's not committing violence or hurting people, he's simply saying something offensive that we do not want to hear because we don't like it. If we suppress ideas we don't like, the proponents of those ideas will probably fester in secret societies and explode in double-plus ungood ways and we will like those results even less. If we allow people to see their ideas, and we ignore them, they've had their chance and they don't have to feel cheated about not getting exposure. Or if we really don't like their ideas and really need to keep them from convincing other people to believe in them, the answer is to tell people why and they'll learn. "But you can't just beat people up because you dislike their stupid opinion. If we go that route, then anyone who is willing to use force can suppress any opinion they don't like, and maybe support opinions we don't like. Then what you get is a society of brutality where it isn't the best ideas that are seen by others, it's only the ideas that have the most vicious thugs to back them up. And it becomes very hard for people to be willing to express any opinion if someone can just pop them one because they say something someone else doesn't like." Later, 246 expands his comments. (Pages 209 to 210): "Some crackpot has a stupid opinion that is really insulting. Really, really insulting. It's so bad that it makes people sick, so we don't allow it to be seen in public. So he becomes miserable, perhaps. So he privately goes around looking for people that are interested in his sick ideas. Maybe he gets a cabal together who fester their hate among one another and eventually they go out and commit some crime against some other people because they need publicity for their cause, since the only way they can get exposure is to commit violence. "Some crackpot has a stupid opinion that is really insulting. Really, really insulting. You don't like it when you see it on a sign. You walk by and ignore him. People keep doing this. Eventually he sees that nobody cares about his opinion. He goes away. But at least he's had the same fair and reasonable chance to let people see his opinions; he can be happy he's had his turn. No muss, no fuss and everyone can be happy about it. He can get exposure without violence. "Some crackpot has a stupid opinion that is really insulting. Really, really insulting. You don't like it when you see it on a sign. So you put up a sign of your own where you explain why you think he's wrong. Now maybe people see both sides of the issue (or all three, or more) and you're able to make people see why he's wrong. Or maybe people will come to realize that you are wrong. But nobody's hurt, nobody feels - and rightfully so - that they have been silenced, and nobody has to be upset about it. Both sides can get exposure without violence. "It is the intolerance to other people's ideas that has essentially caused a large chunk of all the suffering in the world. Maybe all of it that isn't a result of natural disasters. "Arlene, what would you call it if I started taking shots at you because you believe your religion is the only correct one and I believed my religion is the only correct one?" "I don't know." "Northern Ireland and the Middle East. And maybe a half dozen other places. The Catholics believe they are the One True Faith of God and that they are right. The Protestants believe they are the One True Faith of God and that they are right, and they are both willing to stand by their opinion no matter how many of the unbelievers they are willing to kill. "The Jews believe they are the chosen people. They also believe the Muslims are the bastard children of one of their ancestors. So if you're a Muslim, and have been told you're someone's illegitimate half-brother, who believes he's superior to you because he's been specifically chosen by God, you're probably not going to like him much. And if you're a Jew, you're not going to like that inferior, snotty little towel-headed, distant relative you want to shove in a closet much either. "So let's take a look at our happy little party down at the [Picketing] Zone. Some stupid kook said something so insulting that no human being of any intelligence should take seriously. Ignore him and he's a minor pest. Make a fuss and you not only get more people to notice his version of hatred, now his opinion must be important or worth looking at because so many people are interested in it. So now maybe, you do bring more crazies out of the woodwork to help spread his idea. That makes his idea now more valuable and important in the marketplace of ideas. "The worst thing you can do to an idea you disagree with is try and suppress it. What you need to do is try and let others see why the other guy's opinion is wrong. Then maybe more people learn something. And you know what that makes you, it makes you an innoculator. You've inoculated people against the virus of that opinion that you don't like, and because they're educated about it, it can't take root in their minds and spread. And maybe you've made the world just a little bit better place as a result. "But you haven't tried to stop him from peddling his stupid point of view, and he should have no reason to be upset at you for you expressing your opinion. You may not like the other person, you may not think he's got all his oars in the water, but you respect him as another person who has the right to express his ideas even though you don't agree with them. "So that's all that I am saying is, that by tolerating other ideas, even where we disagree or don't think they are right, we promote more tolerance of other people, and of ourselves, and maybe make things a little less intolerant. And definitely make the world a better place." |
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