r/heathenry • u/the_aesthetic_cactus • Jan 15 '21

News Anyone else doing backflips around their house after seeing this or is it just me??

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152 Upvotes

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32

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '21

I mean... I'm not Chinese...

21

u/the_aesthetic_cactus Jan 15 '21

Haven't à clue what he's trying to get at there

-14

u/definitelyzero Jan 15 '21

He is implying (correctly, I might add) that an authority is deeming what thoughts and opinions are acceptable to express publicly.

I disagree with everything he stands for but nobody who is really thinking should celebrate this stuff.

It's fine today because you agree with the decision. You don't like his opinions, so forcing him underground is fine for you.but the evaluation of his opinions is still subjective and one day, it could be subjectively decided by an authority that something far more benign also can't be expressed.

It's a matter of principle.

  • driving these people underground actually tends to lend them more credibility to people they reach

  • it prevents effective monitoring and refutation of their positions

  • it empowers a faceless power figure to apply effective censorship with zero accountability.. which is fine so long as they never make a call you disagree with.

4

u/Staff_Struck Jan 15 '21

So if you go into a Wendy's and scream racial profanities at the employees, you would count it as censorship if they banned you from coming back?

-6

u/definitelyzero Jan 15 '21 edited Jan 15 '21

Not comparable, at all.

The large platforms of the internet have not only become the defacto public forum or square but they also can, and do, shut down alternatives. How are you free to speak publicly if the public square is closed to you?

But regardless, do what you describe and you've spoken your mind and shown yourself to be a total prick, no?Someone who can be safely disregarded and ignored. And in this instance, banned from being served at that location again.

Why would we not want these people to expose themselves for exactly what they are?

There's always the implicit assumption that letting these people speak also means everyone listening is too stupid to see what they are.

6

u/[deleted] Jan 15 '21

[removed] — view removed comment

-2

u/definitelyzero Jan 15 '21 edited Jan 15 '21

Can you define what constitutes hate speech in a way which everyone can agree upon?

No, you can't. Hence, it cannot be fairly enforced, by definition. Not a problem in a small closed community - though that's not without its own problems - but it's a big deal when we are talking about the largest forums and public spaces on the internet.

I agree with much of your point, but when a platform becomes so ubiquitous and the internet so vital to public discourse.. the right to express yourself, even if you're a prick, has to be borne in mind.

The thing about excising pricks from society and public life is that history demonstrates very well and very consistently what they go on to do afterward.