Comment by intended
9 years ago
It is a non issue.
Look, the spirit behind free speech is the principle of the bazaar of ideas.
The place where everyone can meet, exchange and learn. If someone sells something and it's distasteful, well you learn that you don't like it.
That's the spirit, which too many people don't understand, or don't go far enough to understand.
In this bazaar are now thugs, they sell wares designed to disrupt the bazaar, to addict customers, and to stop more complex goods from being sold.
They choose to disrupt the bazaar, and they count on those who repeat "free speech", to tie themselves down and not stop them.
Like a child taunting someone by saying "prove that 2+2 is not = 5."
Valid questions which have hard proofs are regularly used to tie up discussion. It's done intentionally in order to "win".
There's no victory here- the opposition isn't playing by the rules. when there is no good faith, then there is no discussion.
>n this bazaar are now thugs, they sell wares designed to disrupt the bazaar, to addict customers, and to stop more complex goods from being sold.
The problem with that example is the same thing can be used to describe MLK during the 60s. He was all of that by most of the people who lived during that time. It can be applied to pornography, or Catcher in the Rye. You either squash distasteful ideas or you don't. Here's a little secret for you younger folks. The stuff the next generation does, you might find distasteful, but it's the future. They have to be allowed to try on new ideas. If you don't those ideas become more attractive because they are forbidden fruit.
The nice thing about allowing Stormwhatever to speak, is it allows people to see them for what they are. If you squelch them, well, that just makes them stronger.
You have to be able to apply it to people who you admire and people you despise.
I do: I apply it to both. And I'm what passes for the new generation of grey beards.
I too am an acolyte for the cult of free speech.
The key difference being I test the ideas and beliefs in the real world. I signed up to mod a subreddit which was in trouble and I saw what worked and what didn't.
I urge you and others to make that time investment.
You are worried about catcher in the rye- we're long past protecting it. What's being fought are memes - mind bombs and channel stuffers.
We are fighting to let thought survive, in the face of people intentionally releasing material designed to hijack human brains via emotion.
Catcher in the rye is not what's being protected.
The foundation for civilization scale thought is what's being defended.
You are using a paragon to defend something unrelated.
You assume a lot of things about the current state of discourse and the motives of the attaxkers.
They aren't debating Marxism or porn. They're trying to drown out other ideas, and to tie Down people who present cogent counter arguments.
Want a non tech example? Take a look at anti vacc or creationism.
Those are ideas designed to be consumed by human brains- polarize them and then herd them away from information which could counter the infection.
That's not the bazaar of ideas. Thats not free speech.
That's what's happening.
And we have nothing to defend against it.
>intentionally releasing material designed to hijack human brains via emotion.
That sounds like every news station since the 80s, or the Washington Post forums. People on both sides do nothing but prey on emotion, it's a common tactic. Their opinion and even news articles prey on emotion. Fox of course does it as well. News is now a liability in the US; sold their soul for the almighty dollar.
>And we have nothing to defend against it.
Reason and logic. A good BS detector helps too. I understand our educational system is in shambles though. I don't disagree that is a problem, but censoring it won't solve it, at least censoring by blocking websites to register.
A lot of speech attempts to convince. I've read an analysis of the emotional manipulation techniques in Letter from a Birmingham Jail; that was also "intentionally releasing material designed to hijack human brains via emotion". If we don't believe that the truth will win in the marketplace of ideas then we've already lost, because what's the alternative? Relying on some kind of Ministry of Truth?
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Wait, so you're saying censoring creationist and anti-vaccine sites is acceptable too? That's precisely the slippery slope your interlocutor is referring to.
You are far from an "acolyte for the cult of free speech" if think ideas you disagree with should be kicked out of the bazaar by mobs.
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So how do we distinguish between ideas that "win" in the bazaar of ideas, and ideas that "disrupt" the bazaar of ideas?