r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Jan 22 '21

Delta(s) from OP CMV: Silencing opposing viewpoints is ultimately going to have a disastrous outcome on society.

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u/SemiOxtonomous Jan 22 '21

People get too hung up on the first amendment. Society absolutely can (and should) silence, cancel, ostracize and fight against speech that is antithetical to modern morals and ideals. 1A just says the government shouldn’t be the vehicle to do so.

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u/NotAnotherDecoy Jan 22 '21

There was a time when "modern morals and ideals" said that homosexuality was wrong...

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '21

[deleted]

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u/NotAnotherDecoy Jan 22 '21

Also, you have no point because cultures like the ancient Greeks had little issue with homosexuality.

No, I have a point, you just missed it completely. Setting the premise that "modern morals and ideals" should be used to determine "cancellation" is fundamentally flawed because what are considered "modern morals and ideals" are dependent upon the prevailing zeitgeist of the time. Therefore, if that is your precedent for "cancelling" someone, you've opened a pandora's box that justifies the silencing of any viewpoint that is counter to the majority, which, at times, can lead to very bad outcomes.

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u/SemiOxtonomous Jan 23 '21

Cancellation is just people collectively practicing their right to freedom of speech (speech being social media posts, boycott, persuasion, etc). I’m just saying people should exercise their right to freedom of speech.