4 ms·

In the 90s some politicians tried to ban gangsta rap, and there was an official policy that "prohibited any homosexual or bisexual person from disclosing their

In the 90s some politicians tried to ban gangsta rap, and there was an official policy that "prohibited any homosexual or bisexual person from disclosing their sexual orientation or from speaking about any homosexual relationships, including marriages or other familial attributes, while serving in the United States armed forces". I'm not trying to negate your experience. I'm just adding context about other people's experience in a recent past.

xfitm3 6y ago
I'm not claiming the past was perfect. Some changes are absolutely positive. Here's my anecdote. I look back at films from the 80s and 90s where free speech was discussed or otherwise a component of the plot. It was unthinkable to censor thoughts, or allow the government to spy and collect data on the citizens. Both of these notions seem to have disappeared.
- rjtavares 6y ago
  Government spying was unthinkable in the 80s? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_12333 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_12333
- 1270018000 6y ago
  Private companies censoring isn't a new thing. Regardless, information is shared as such a rate now that comparing them to anecdotes from the 80s isn't even applicable. I'd have trouble believing a radio talk show host from the 80s would host self-proclaimed neo nazis like Joe Rogan has. If anything, speech is so free now that we see opinions that wouldn't have seen the light of day a few decades ago. Which is why content hosters are having to tackle the question of what they allow, and hopefully they make the right decision.
  - ithkuil 6y ago
    Did Joe Rogan literally proclaim himself as a neo-nazi or is it a hyperbole? Genuinely curious, since a quick web search didn't shed any light in that question
    - drlobster 6y ago
      I had to read the paragraph a few times, but I think what is being said is that "Joe has hosted self proclaimed neo-Nazis'.
      - ithkuil 6y ago
        oh sorry I totally misparsed the sentence
      - dkdk8283 6y ago
        Which is completely acceptable. Everyone deserves the chance to talk. You don’t have listen.
        krageon 6y ago
        Everyone does not deserve the chance to talk. Pick up a history book, I think you will find some good examples for why Nazis do not deserve a platform or space to talk about their political views in society.
        jakelazaroff 6y ago
        No, it’s not. Everyone deserves the chance to talk, but everyone does not deserve to be broadcast to an audience of millions.
        ithkuil 6y ago
        But they'll find a way to talk to like minded people; and then you'll be surprised how many of them there are. BTW, who are those millions you want to protect? Are you afraid otherwise sensible people will be infected by some opinions expressed on media? Isn't this a bit paternalistic? It's better to fight the enemy in the open field; let's have people talk and show who they are and what they actually mean by what they say. Let's criticize what is wrong with what they say and not just said by somebody that got lumped together in the same camp. Let's have an open a tolerant society, in which intolerance itself is exposed for what it is openly and not given ammunition by being intolerant of any people.
- greencabs 6y ago
  I wish you were joking, but I know you’re not, because Americans have been censored and lied to their whole lives. In fact, the Cold War had already came and went at that point. “Free speech” has always been an American myth.
  - s__s 6y ago
    Free speech isn’t an American thing. In fact its part of the universal declaration of human rights. > "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers".
Aerroon 6y ago
I think the big shift is that back then everything wasn't recorded. This made it so that limitations on speech were dependent on where you spoke and with whom. Nowadays everything can be recorded and outrage spreads faster too.

xfitm3 6y ago

I'm not claiming the past was perfect. Some changes are absolutely positive. Here's my anecdote. I look back at films from the 80s and 90s where free speech was discussed or otherwise a component of the plot. It was unthinkable to censor thoughts, or allow the government to spy and collect data on the citizens. Both of these notions seem to have disappeared.

rjtavares 6y ago
Government spying was unthinkable in the 80s? https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/COINTELPRO https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_12333 https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_Order_12333
1270018000 6y ago
Private companies censoring isn't a new thing. Regardless, information is shared as such a rate now that comparing them to anecdotes from the 80s isn't even applicable. I'd have trouble believing a radio talk show host from the 80s would host self-proclaimed neo nazis like Joe Rogan has. If anything, speech is so free now that we see opinions that wouldn't have seen the light of day a few decades ago. Which is why content hosters are having to tackle the question of what they allow, and hopefully they make the right decision.
- ithkuil 6y ago
  Did Joe Rogan literally proclaim himself as a neo-nazi or is it a hyperbole? Genuinely curious, since a quick web search didn't shed any light in that question
  - drlobster 6y ago
    I had to read the paragraph a few times, but I think what is being said is that "Joe has hosted self proclaimed neo-Nazis'.
    - ithkuil 6y ago
      oh sorry I totally misparsed the sentence
    - dkdk8283 6y ago
      Which is completely acceptable. Everyone deserves the chance to talk. You don’t have listen.
      - krageon 6y ago
        Everyone does not deserve the chance to talk. Pick up a history book, I think you will find some good examples for why Nazis do not deserve a platform or space to talk about their political views in society.
      - jakelazaroff 6y ago
        No, it’s not. Everyone deserves the chance to talk, but everyone does not deserve to be broadcast to an audience of millions.
        ithkuil 6y ago
        But they'll find a way to talk to like minded people; and then you'll be surprised how many of them there are. BTW, who are those millions you want to protect? Are you afraid otherwise sensible people will be infected by some opinions expressed on media? Isn't this a bit paternalistic? It's better to fight the enemy in the open field; let's have people talk and show who they are and what they actually mean by what they say. Let's criticize what is wrong with what they say and not just said by somebody that got lumped together in the same camp. Let's have an open a tolerant society, in which intolerance itself is exposed for what it is openly and not given ammunition by being intolerant of any people.
greencabs 6y ago
I wish you were joking, but I know you’re not, because Americans have been censored and lied to their whole lives. In fact, the Cold War had already came and went at that point. “Free speech” has always been an American myth.
- s__s 6y ago
  Free speech isn’t an American thing. In fact its part of the universal declaration of human rights. > "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers".

Aerroon 6y ago

I think the big shift is that back then everything wasn't recorded. This made it so that limitations on speech were dependent on where you spoke and with whom. Nowadays everything can be recorded and outrage spreads faster too.