4 ms·

> I wish somebody would have simply advised him not to speak on such matters because nothing good could become of it. Maybe he needed a PR manager. That sounds

> I wish somebody would have simply advised him not to speak on such matters because nothing good could become of it. Maybe he needed a PR manager. That sounds awful, but apparently this is what the world wants: carefully filtered speech that doesn't stray far from what people already agree with. The world needs everyone to speak about every topic. If we all self censor then only the extremists will be speaking.

al_form2000 7y ago
And everybody can speak about anything. As long as they don't care being hounded by the neo-puritan prudes and lose job, career, social standing.
brnt 7y ago
> The world needs everyone to speak about every topic. If we all self censor then only the extremists will be speaking. Thinking in extremes (we all self-censor or everyone speaks out on every topic) is the first step towards extremism. There is a middle ground. Our curse is being unable to pin it down, while forever having to search for it. Democracy is hard. And it should be. Easy solutions are not going to be democratic.
lazyjones 7y ago
> but apparently this is what the world wants: carefully filtered speech that doesn't stray far from what people already agree with. Let's never forget that famous G.B. Shaw quotation, always appropriate in such situations. http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/692.html http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/692.html I don't want to live in a world where everyone has to take great care all the time to fulfil the FotM expectations of certain noisy people who believe they're a majority.
merb 7y ago
> The world needs everyone to speak about every topic. If we all self censor then only the extremists will be speaking. actually stallman was one of the extremists and he wasn't happy if somebody with the middle ground spoke about free software/open source software.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- roenxi 7y ago
  Stallman was extreme, but practically speaking he has never had any power and never tried to gather any. His extremism is characterised by pedantically talking about the logical conclusions of actions and working strictly within and through the legal system to accomplish his goals. That is a type of extremism that is very uncomfortable when it is used against something held personally important, but it is exactly the type of extremism that we want more of. Organisers of extra-legal justice mobs are the sort of extremists we can generally do without.
- h0h0h0h0111 7y ago
  I think that's fine though. Extremists exist to help the rest of us work out which shade of grey looks right to us.
0x445442 7y ago
While I don't agree with everything RMS said I'm not bothered by it either. However, I tend to have the same effect on people when I think I'm just being honest but it comes off as offensive. It's a hard balancing act, on the one hand people need to be able to deal with facts and reality, even if it's offensive to them. On the other hand we don't want our speech to act as sand in the machinery of communication.
rnernento 7y ago
Yeah, I want to live in a world where people are afraid to speak what they truly believe even if it's controversial. They should be so afraid of losing everything they just keep their heads down and their mouths shut. Nothing bad ever happens in societies that operate like that.
lanevorockz 7y ago
Wise worlds, extremism is rising because of Cancel Culture. People might not speak but they will certainly act.

al_form2000 7y ago

And everybody can speak about anything. As long as they don't care being hounded by the neo-puritan prudes and lose job, career, social standing.

brnt 7y ago

> The world needs everyone to speak about every topic. If we all self censor then only the extremists will be speaking. Thinking in extremes (we all self-censor or everyone speaks out on every topic) is the first step towards extremism. There is a middle ground. Our curse is being unable to pin it down, while forever having to search for it. Democracy is hard. And it should be. Easy solutions are not going to be democratic.

lazyjones 7y ago

> but apparently this is what the world wants: carefully filtered speech that doesn't stray far from what people already agree with. Let's never forget that famous G.B. Shaw quotation, always appropriate in such situations. http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/692.html http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/692.html I don't want to live in a world where everyone has to take great care all the time to fulfil the FotM expectations of certain noisy people who believe they're a majority.

merb 7y ago

> The world needs everyone to speak about every topic. If we all self censor then only the extremists will be speaking. actually stallman was one of the extremists and he wasn't happy if somebody with the middle ground spoke about free software/open source software.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
roenxi 7y ago
Stallman was extreme, but practically speaking he has never had any power and never tried to gather any. His extremism is characterised by pedantically talking about the logical conclusions of actions and working strictly within and through the legal system to accomplish his goals. That is a type of extremism that is very uncomfortable when it is used against something held personally important, but it is exactly the type of extremism that we want more of. Organisers of extra-legal justice mobs are the sort of extremists we can generally do without.
h0h0h0h0111 7y ago
I think that's fine though. Extremists exist to help the rest of us work out which shade of grey looks right to us.

0x445442 7y ago

While I don't agree with everything RMS said I'm not bothered by it either. However, I tend to have the same effect on people when I think I'm just being honest but it comes off as offensive. It's a hard balancing act, on the one hand people need to be able to deal with facts and reality, even if it's offensive to them. On the other hand we don't want our speech to act as sand in the machinery of communication.

rnernento 7y ago

Yeah, I want to live in a world where people are afraid to speak what they truly believe even if it's controversial. They should be so afraid of losing everything they just keep their heads down and their mouths shut. Nothing bad ever happens in societies that operate like that.

lanevorockz 7y ago

Wise worlds, extremism is rising because of Cancel Culture. People might not speak but they will certainly act.