These days — perhaps because so many of us are spending more time at home in front of our computers and televisions — there seem to be more "heated debates" about societal "hot button" issues than ever before.
Of course, the "Freedom of Speech" debate isn't exactly new, it just seems to be burning brightly at the moment. Or maybe I am just noticing because we happen to be part of this online social ecosystem that places very high importance on freedom of expression and being a place where censorship is less of a problem than many others.
Starting from the perspective of being purely informational (not taking sides here), alternative viewpoints and conspiracy theories definitely get more "air time" in our community than in many other places. I have no "skin" in the particular game of whether or not specific theories are actually right or wrong, I am just glad they can be heard.
Actually examining and contemplating viewpoints outside our immediate awareness is how we learn things about the world; about ourselves; about our biases and preconceptions.
As I have alluded to a few times in the past, a good friend is a long time Free Speech activist... who often resorts to "shock statements" to get people involved and engaged. To get people talking.
He might put out a poster that reads "Hitler was RIGHT!" with the purpose purely to challenge people to sidestep their immediate conclusions and biases to see if they will actually read the rest of the poster, which might make a completely unrelated but very valid argument.
Some are inclined to just grab the poster and smash it without thinking... and it becomes a "teaching moment."
He used to engage people on the boardwalk in Venice, California; these days he does the same near Pioneer Square in Portland, Oregon. That has been his gig for better than 30 years. Before that, he was a high-powered stockbroker on Wall Street in New York.
Anyway, the point he always like to make — as very much a street warrior in the Freedom of Speech arena — that that your right to free expression does NOT include a "right to be AGREED WITH."
Many times we'd be talking, and he'd lament the fact that so many people proclaiming their right to Free Speech would get all testy and start shouting "CENSORSHIP!" when other folks started disagreeing with them and telling them they were full of shit.
So... you want the FREEDOM to tell other people that their narrative is shit, but if other people try to tell you that your narrative is shit... then it's suddenly "abuse" and an "infringement on your right to Free Speech???"
It happens almost equally with "left-leaning" and "right-leaning" activists... suggesting (at least to me) that we're dealing less with philosophical viewpoints than just basic human nature.
The more I think about it, the more it seems like a substantial number of people with strong opinions might purport to be looking for an arena in which to share their message freely (certainly a fair and reasonable thing to ask), but what they are really looking for turns out to be an Echo Chamber in which everyone uniformly agrees with them and agrees that any challenges (reasonable or otherwise) to their perspectives is actually an attack on their Freedom of Speech and must be crushed immediately.
Perhaps this tendency of people to seek echo chambers (rather than debate forums) for their perspectives has been exacerbated by the advent of the Internet where we can almost instantaneously drum up support for almost any opinion... AND block/ban/eject/censor any dissent at the push of a button.
When I look around at the world, I'm not entirely sure that a chorus of affirmative voices in little bubbles really helps advance the greater societal narrative. If that, indeed, is what is required for "progress."
Maybe a (self) reality check is in order...
Thanks for reading!
Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!
(As usual, all text and images by the author, unless otherwise credited. This is original content, created expressly for this platform.)
Created at 20200722 13:49 PDT
0083/1311
I came here for the conspiracies but darned if I ain't staying for the conversations. I openly admit to believing in the more out there side of things but that doesn't mean I can't consider other points of view and even hold a polite conversation with someone who is polar opposite to me in opinions. We won't learn if we can't listen.
Posted using Dapplr
Welcome to the world of Hive @deadswitch! If you look around and pick and choose, you definitely can find some good discussions here.
The key element I am trying to get at here is precisely that there's nothing wrong with being a bit out there and entertaining some esoteric opinions and theories... but we can still be polite about it, and open to other possibilities. And yet? Sometimes it feels like there are many people who'd rather be in a fight than be in an exchange of ideas.
Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for the kind welcome!
It took me a little time to navigate the site and the various front ends but I am getting there.
You hit the nail right on the head, some are more interested in the fight in fact I have read so many times about people admitting they say contentious things to generate heated discussion then wade in..
Difficult times, there seems to be no limit to the demographic, no pigeon hole corresponds. young, old, rich or poor, they all have their share of trollish people!
Posted using Dapplr
I think it takes quite the emotional maturity to debate and discuss. The thing that is missed by those who just lash out defensively is that there is so much to be gained by lively discourse. Not to mention the fact that it can be plain old enjoyable.
True indeed, Boom! Could be just because I am getting old and grey, but it feels like more and more of the upcoming generations are better at reacting than they are at responding. And with reactions? It becomes very hard to have actual discussion and dialogue.
Does make me wonder whether one of the Achilles heels of the Internet is its immediacy, which causes people to just blurt out stuff rather than pausing and contemplating the deeper message and the words they are sending back.
The reacting is defo the thing, most often they react by lashing out and name calling. That is when you can instantly tell you are not going to get anywhere there.
The immediacy too, I have even been there myself where I respond and seconds later wish I could have amended my reply.
I don't think people get a chance to grow up on the internet!
I can respect people that are trying to make a difference like your friend. However, the older I get, the more I feel less inclined to fix the world. I just dont want to devote the energy. I know I am getting old coz all I rather do is post pics of flowers and call it a day lol.
I'm not sure we really can fix the world, because the world doesn't necessarily think it needs fixing. Maybe that realization is something that comes with aging... most of the time, these days, I simply take what is and try to describe it in different words, and then set it free again to do its thing... perhaps in the hope that a slight "translation" without taking action will encourage some people to pause and consider whether the things they feel so attached to are actually as important as they think...
What I find quite telling is how emotional some people get when they are challenged. They think they are awake, yet act completely blinded by their feelings.
Does seem to happen a lot... and keeping people all stirred up and in their emotions is perhaps the most toxic thing the MSM does. As psychologists will tell us: "People can't hear anything when they are in their Complex." If you can whip people into an emotional frenzy you get lots of "chaos and action" but typically very little actual dialogue and resolution.
Which is why I believe that it is up to the individual to build emotional maturity and control - no one else is invested in helping along the way - especially not the media.
Emotional maturity is definitely key. I have to wonder if there is a change in the general level of emotional maturity in society or if things like the pseudo anonymity and immediacy of the virtual forum just make it much more apparent. Of course I'm only in my 30s so I was still pretty emotionally immature in the days before the internet so theres no way for me to really compare...
I am not sure - but I suspect that when there is more real-life interaction, people are exposed to a wider range of feedback and randomization that enhances learning. The internet allows for picking and choosing to create echo chambers that are further fed by algorithms.
Important point... it seems like that randomization is precisely what's missing from perspectives. People gravitate towards their echo chambers and then start operating under the false assumption that "most people think this way" because within their small slice that IS true, but it doesn't hold true on a broader scale.
And then there is the issue that even when they look a bit further, the algorithms are still feeding them more of the same.
True, if we’re not exposed to a range of opinions then whenever something triggers any cognitive dissonance We are probably more likely to have an emotional reaction
!ENGAGE 20
ENGAGEtokens.Very good point. There was just a very heavy debate about the "Covid19 conspiracy" or not.
Your post sounds like a voice of reason.
Hi @hope777, I presume you're talking about the recent post by @mobbs? I thought he made some good points while not ending up with a "fight."
My wife and I tend to come at this whole thing from a psychology background... and the sad truth is that most people can't carry on an actual discussion and exchange of ideas while they are "in their complex." Of course, the MSM exploits that, and keeps people bickering and fighting, rather than discussing and building bridges between disparate viewpoints.
It's kinda sad, but I suppose it's also just human nature.
Thank you for your reply.
I should have said which post. I did read the post of @mobbs but it was the one beneath.
https://hive.blog/covid/@acidyo/does-anyone-here-actually-believe-anti-covid-conspiracy-theories
Have a good rest of the week.
Oh yes, I read that one, too. Which — needless to say — whipped more than a few people into an emotional frenzy.
Bueno los tiempos cambian y la mayor virtud es la de poder seguir subsistiendo en este mundo, sabemos que la tecnologia todos los dias nos muestra algo nuevo, te dejo mi voto tambien te sigo.
Gracias por pasar por mi post @comandoyeya, de hecho, siempre estamos aprendiendo, tanto de la tecnología como simplemente de la experiencia de pasar por este mundo nuestro. No todo es fácil, y no todo es bueno, ¡pero tenemos que hacer lo mejor que podamos!
La verdad que si y es una manera de subsistir en estos tiempos.
Wow, exelente post, muy instructivo, mas cuando habla del yo interior, me agrado, te dejo mi voto y te sigo.
¡Gracias por tu visita y por tus amables palabras!
"I may disagree with your opinion, but I will defend to the death your right to express it."
I very important and true statement for the ages... and yet it sometimes feels like more and more people subscribe to "I may disagree with your opinion, and I will beat you to death for expressing it!" instead.
Awesome article!
How's the lockdown going?
Hi @cuddlekitten! I hope these little comment upvotes I give actually help.
@dustbunny tries to help out when it can ;)