4 ms·
What good is "freedom of speech" if you can only talk to yourself?
by engineer_22 5y ago
What good is "freedom of speech" if you can only talk to yourself?
- Teever 5y agoFreedom is speech isn't the freedom to make people listen.
- tdhoot 5y agoGreat. You have the freedom to speak, as long as it’s only in your head or into a corner where no one can ever hear you. Freedom of speech doesn’t mean the freedom to make people listen, but the government can’t make that choice for people.
- engineer_22 5y ago"make people listen" Like, coercion? As in, physically restrain someone so they must engage with my ideas?
- Teever 5y agoNo, we're talking about a situation in Ottawa where people are blaring their truck horns for hours at a time with a complete lack of regard for how the citizens of that city feel about it.
- engineer_22 5y agoOh, I thought we were talking about freedom of speech.
- malermeister 5y agoYou clearly listened to me. I didn't spend any money on that. Case in point.
- engineer_22 5y agoI'm afraid I don't understand your argument. Maybe it would be clearer if you told me what "freedom of speech" means to you .
- malermeister 5y agoFreedom of speech means freedom to speak. We're speaking freely right now, aren't we? And I didn't have to create a website or an ad or pay a graphic designer or any of the many things claimed in that Twitter thread.
- engineer_22 5y agoMaybe you don't pay to use the internet, but I do. If the government froze my bank account so I couldn't pay my phone bill, I wouldn't be free to speak to you right now.
- colburnmh 5y agoThat's not true. You just wouldn't be free to speak on this medium. I don't have the right to speak in the Queen's bedroom in Buckingham Palace, either. Neither of those things are significant limitations on the freedom of speech.
- colburnmh 5y agoYou have the right to talk all you want. You don't have the right to force anyone to listen to you, nor to prevent others from pursuing their daily lives. Nor does freedom of speech imply that your speech is free from repercussions. The government (federal, state, or local) cannot prevent you from saying most things, or retaliating against you. But most everyone else can within the bounds of legality. Freedom of speech means you can stand on the corner and yell about the "undisputed benefits of cryptocurrencies". It also means me and a group of my friends can surround you and sing "Baby Shark" repeatedly at the top of our lungs, drowning out your message.