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Freedom to speak ones thoughts without fear of a mob attack should be absolute. Anyone who seeks to silence the speech of others is only after power, not peace.

indymike 5y ago
> Anyone who seeks to silence the speech of others is only after power, not peace. Freedom of speech is an important buffer that prevents violence, too. Far too often the group calling to silence some unpopular opinion doesn't realize that in taking that outlet away, all that is left is violence.
LasEspuelas 5y ago
What do we mean with "mob attack"? Is everyone free to respond to other's thoughts with one's own?
- wilsocr88 5y ago
  What we mean is when groups of loud activists pile onto a wrongthinker en masse and demand that the person's life and livelihood be destroyed, or else engage in targeted harassment campaigns, all for the crime of having a different viewpoint, which of course makes them the worst possible thing.
tootie 5y ago
Physical attack? Yes. Universal condemnation is part of free speech too. And really, incitement to violence is a gray area.
- wilsocr88 5y ago
  We should be extremely slow to "universally condemn" things, though. Free speech requires that universal condemnation is very difficult to reach. The reality of a free society is that we will be confronted with ideas that differ from our own. It will often be uncomfortable. To be free is a demanding thing for a sovereign citizen. The exact thing to not do is to claim that every situation is potentially worthy of universal condemnation and that we must figure out how every situation could potentially be worthy of universal condemnation. That's the opposite of living in a free society.
deleted 5y ago
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QuadmasterXLII 5y ago
So far you've amassed four critical replies to your comment. What's the threshold where we become a "mob attack" suppressing your "freedom to speak your thoughts?" I think if three more people comment negatively here, then the lot of us should be excised from the internet.
- tanseydavid 5y ago
  This is comment is unhelpful in the extreme.
  - QuadmasterXLII 5y ago
    Don't get me wrong, I'm all for freedom of speech. I just think it's weird that people try to pitch vicious online cancel mobs as a threat to free speech, when it's much more accurate to call them the price of free speech.

indymike 5y ago

> Anyone who seeks to silence the speech of others is only after power, not peace. Freedom of speech is an important buffer that prevents violence, too. Far too often the group calling to silence some unpopular opinion doesn't realize that in taking that outlet away, all that is left is violence.

LasEspuelas 5y ago

What do we mean with "mob attack"? Is everyone free to respond to other's thoughts with one's own?

wilsocr88 5y ago
What we mean is when groups of loud activists pile onto a wrongthinker en masse and demand that the person's life and livelihood be destroyed, or else engage in targeted harassment campaigns, all for the crime of having a different viewpoint, which of course makes them the worst possible thing.

tootie 5y ago

Physical attack? Yes. Universal condemnation is part of free speech too. And really, incitement to violence is a gray area.

wilsocr88 5y ago
We should be extremely slow to "universally condemn" things, though. Free speech requires that universal condemnation is very difficult to reach. The reality of a free society is that we will be confronted with ideas that differ from our own. It will often be uncomfortable. To be free is a demanding thing for a sovereign citizen. The exact thing to not do is to claim that every situation is potentially worthy of universal condemnation and that we must figure out how every situation could potentially be worthy of universal condemnation. That's the opposite of living in a free society.

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

QuadmasterXLII 5y ago

So far you've amassed four critical replies to your comment. What's the threshold where we become a "mob attack" suppressing your "freedom to speak your thoughts?" I think if three more people comment negatively here, then the lot of us should be excised from the internet.

tanseydavid 5y ago
This is comment is unhelpful in the extreme.
- QuadmasterXLII 5y ago
  Don't get me wrong, I'm all for freedom of speech. I just think it's weird that people try to pitch vicious online cancel mobs as a threat to free speech, when it's much more accurate to call them the price of free speech.