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As I see it, a functional democracy requires tolerance of unpopular opinions not just by the government but also by society at large. I don't agree with these

As I see it, a functional democracy requires tolerance of unpopular opinions not just by the government but also by society at large. I don't agree with these sorts of statements, but I believe that censoring them is harmful to society.

zimpenfish 8y ago
> a functional democracy requires tolerance of unpopular opinions not just by the government but also by society at large If you insert "some" before "unpopular", I'm with you. If you require "all" before "unpopular", then no, I disagree - e.g. people who believe "LGBTQ people should be done away" with, well, that's an "unpopular opinion" that should not be tolerated and, in fact, should be made anathema for anyone to express.
- Lkjhmnbv 8y ago
  So we should do away with them? Your comment is illogical.
  - zimpenfish 8y ago
    > So we should do away with them? With some unpopular opinions, yes. > Your comment is illogical. Could you explain why?
    - Lkjhmnbv 8y ago
      How do you do away with unpopular opinions when people decide they disagree with you?
      - zimpenfish 8y ago
        If they're unpopular opinions, people are already disagreeing, aren't they? Anyway, the same way we do away with anything - gather support, shun the opinion makers, educate the rest, make it economically unviable to support the position, etc.
        Lkjhmnbv 8y ago
        So you support authoritarianism. Not everyone does. In fact that's entirely anti-American. >e.g. people who believe "LGBTQ people should be done away" with, well, that's an "unpopular opinion" that should not be tolerated and, in fact, should be made anathema for anyone to express. You're literally saying popularity of an idea determines if it's correct. You're literally arguing like a Nazi. But whatever. Good luck.
        dang 8y ago
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  - dang 8y ago
    This comment breaks several of the site guidelines. Please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and post civilly and substantively, or not at all.
- PavlovsCat 8y ago
  That's because it has other properties besides being unpopular.
  - zimpenfish 8y ago
    What other (I'm assuming redeeming since if they're not redeeming, why would we care?) properties could the opinion "LGBTQ people should be done away with" have?
ivl 8y ago
This runs into the paradox of tolerance[1]. Net, when the things being censored are say, advocating for genocide, the harm they can lead to is much greater than not having people advocating for genocide. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance

zimpenfish 8y ago

> a functional democracy requires tolerance of unpopular opinions not just by the government but also by society at large If you insert "some" before "unpopular", I'm with you. If you require "all" before "unpopular", then no, I disagree - e.g. people who believe "LGBTQ people should be done away" with, well, that's an "unpopular opinion" that should not be tolerated and, in fact, should be made anathema for anyone to express.

Lkjhmnbv 8y ago
So we should do away with them? Your comment is illogical.
- zimpenfish 8y ago
  > So we should do away with them? With some unpopular opinions, yes. > Your comment is illogical. Could you explain why?
  - Lkjhmnbv 8y ago
    How do you do away with unpopular opinions when people decide they disagree with you?
    - zimpenfish 8y ago
      If they're unpopular opinions, people are already disagreeing, aren't they? Anyway, the same way we do away with anything - gather support, shun the opinion makers, educate the rest, make it economically unviable to support the position, etc.
      - Lkjhmnbv 8y ago
        So you support authoritarianism. Not everyone does. In fact that's entirely anti-American. >e.g. people who believe "LGBTQ people should be done away" with, well, that's an "unpopular opinion" that should not be tolerated and, in fact, should be made anathema for anyone to express. You're literally saying popularity of an idea determines if it's correct. You're literally arguing like a Nazi. But whatever. Good luck.
        dang 8y ago
        We've banned this account for violating the site guidelines and ignoring our request to stop. If you don't want to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to believe that you'll follow the rules in the future. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- dang 8y ago
  This comment breaks several of the site guidelines. Please review https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and post civilly and substantively, or not at all.
PavlovsCat 8y ago
That's because it has other properties besides being unpopular.
- zimpenfish 8y ago
  What other (I'm assuming redeeming since if they're not redeeming, why would we care?) properties could the opinion "LGBTQ people should be done away with" have?

ivl 8y ago

This runs into the paradox of tolerance[1]. Net, when the things being censored are say, advocating for genocide, the harm they can lead to is much greater than not having people advocating for genocide. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_of_tolerance