Defending Gab = Defending Hitler
So, I got a comment on my post about Gab being attacked.
In part, the user said this:
Defending gab is basically defending hitler and you can freeze peach all day and night but it doesnt change the fact that nazis are losers.
I wanted to address this, because it's such a mess of a comment.
Defending Gab is defending Hitler
This is one of the most ridiculous comments that you'll see all the time on the Internet.
It's a total vacuum of intellectual rigor and decency.
The error with this argument is that it presupposes that by defending a platform's right to exist, you therefore support all of the content of its users.
It's Godwin, and it's total foolishness.
I can support Gab's right to exist as a platform for users while denouncing violent rhetoric from neo-NAZIs.
And as you can see here, there is a community of Jews who defend Gab because they believe in free speech.
Are these "Gab Jews" defending Hitler when they defend Gab? Really?
If you believe that, I dare you to go say it to this guy directly.
Insulting free speech
The main thing I can say about this is that you defend the destruction of free speech at your own peril.
"it doesnt change the fact that nazis are losers."
This is a total non-sequitur: defending free speech has nothing to do with NAZIs except for the fact that their speech is just as protected as anyone else's.
Everyone should be allowed to speak their views, even if you think those views are wrong.
As @emergehealthier said in the same post:
Freedom of speech was meant to protect speech people don't like! Driving offensive speech and ideas underground, deprives of the opportunity to openly discuss issues. Without open and free discussion, resentment grows and people cling tighter to the prohibited ideologies being expressed.
I'll finish with this comic, which relates:
In 1978, the ACLU defended the right to free speech of neo-nazis - If you really believe in free speech you believe in the rights of others to express their ideas - this includes the 'hate speech' of those we oppose.
https://www.aclu.org/other/aclu-history-taking-stand-free-speech-skokie
Very true. Liberalism used to be a cohesive set of ideas that were intended to protect people's liberties. Now it's all about protecting people's feelings.
The problem with protecting feelings is that those in power decide whose feelings are worthy of protection. This excludes the feeling of others. The result is increased hatred. It's a vicious cycle that needs to end.
Posted using Partiko Android
Pretty much a case of "selective free speech" this current generation of people tend to love free speech until it's used against them, probably a consequence of the echo box effect and the polarization of communities world wide.
Posted using Partiko Android
I think there's a whole culture of people who don't even know why free speech matters at all. The liberal principal used to be "I might not like what you say, but I'll defend your right to say it". Now, it's "I might not like what you say, and I'll silence you if you say it."
People use the term "hate speech" as a cudgel with which they may beat their political enemies. It is nothing more than dressed-up thought crime, as it is an attempt to criminalize an opinion. Sure, sometimes people say horrible things. If you don't like it, you're welcome to simply ignore the person who is triggering you or exercise your own freedom of expression by voicing your objections. Censorship or criminalizing speech is not a solution.
Well dang, I couldn't agree more!
O YES
Upvoted and resteemed!
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