3 ms·

> Why have people become so afraid to speak their minds? A sufficiently large group of people have realized that they can function legally as a social lynch mo

by csa 3y ago

> Why have people become so afraid to speak their minds? A sufficiently large group of people have realized that they can function legally as a social lynch mob. A person can stand by their ideals all they want, but if their livelihood and/or social standing have been taken from them, then expressing those ideals doesn’t serve them very well. Many people just find it easier not to engage. History will not reflect kindly on these groups — they will be mocked (“crazy things people actually believed in the 2020s!”). > We live in a democracy or not? Regarding democracy, the most vocal zealots on both extremes of the political spectrum support decidedly undemocratic positions.

DeathArrow 3y ago
So people like to speak about freedom but are afraid of actually living in freedom?
- seb1204 3y ago
  In my opinion many want democracy but few only exercise their democratic duty (vote) and fewer are active beyond that. Couch potatoes and complacent consumers will get ruled by dictators in the long run.
  - oneeyedpigeon 3y ago
    I don't see any contradiction between wanting to live in a democracy and taking an active part in it. In fact, quite the opposite — I think there's something truly anti-democratic about places like Australia where voting is compulsory. In my ideal world, fewer people would vote — everyone would still, of course, have the right to, just fewer would choose to.
  - kbelder 3y ago
    Well, about 65% vote. So far from all, but most do.
- csa 3y ago
  > So people like to speak about freedom but are afraid of actually living in freedom? Many/most of the folks I know who speak out loudest about “freedom” are also the most willing to restrict it… for others. What’s the saying… freedom for me but not for thee? Before I come across as overly cynical, let me just add that most Americans I’m around have a very laissez faire attitude about most things. They are just very quiet about it, living their lives peacefully. I’m a believer in the very moderate silent majority in the US. It’s just hard to notice that it exists when pretty much all mainstream media and social media are designed to favor the promotion of extremist stances.
drewcoo 3y ago
> the most vocal zealots on both extremes of the political spectrum support decidedly undemocratic positions My experience in the US is the opposite. It's only at the extremes that you'll find people concerned about our civil liberties slipping away, wanting to give everyone a voice, and accepting that there are opinions unlike their own and that's ok. Probably because people on both ends are threatened by the middle party duopoly. The middle only allows conversation about wedge issues and nothing different or more substantive. The middle both decide for whom we can vote because they're corporations, not democratic entities. They collaborate only to make sure viable 3rd parties cannot exist and to ensure their donors' demands are met. Otherwise, they return to squabbling over wedge issues that neither party actually ever solves because the wedges are too useful to be solved. Our two middle parties are fundamentally anti-democratic - maybe that's why most Americans are independent.
- Technotroll 3y ago
  Do you consider AOC extreme? Or do you support her positive attitude towards cancel culture? The consequence of having an even moderately contrarian opinion these days is getting fired from your job, not to meantion mob violence and threats.
  - tremon 3y ago
    All top-tier US politicians are extreme in one way or another. Moderation and nuance have no place in the US' bipolar system, so the only way to be noticed and reach the top is to become an extreme caricature of whatever topic is most dear to your voters' (or donors') hearts.
    - DeathArrow 3y ago
      > o the only way to be noticed and reach the top is to become an extreme caricature of whatever topic is most dear to your voters' (or donors') hearts And doing that while you created that topic in the first place.

by csa 3y ago

DeathArrow 3y ago

So people like to speak about freedom but are afraid of actually living in freedom?

seb1204 3y ago
In my opinion many want democracy but few only exercise their democratic duty (vote) and fewer are active beyond that. Couch potatoes and complacent consumers will get ruled by dictators in the long run.
- oneeyedpigeon 3y ago
  I don't see any contradiction between wanting to live in a democracy and taking an active part in it. In fact, quite the opposite — I think there's something truly anti-democratic about places like Australia where voting is compulsory. In my ideal world, fewer people would vote — everyone would still, of course, have the right to, just fewer would choose to.
- kbelder 3y ago
  Well, about 65% vote. So far from all, but most do.
csa 3y ago
> So people like to speak about freedom but are afraid of actually living in freedom? Many/most of the folks I know who speak out loudest about “freedom” are also the most willing to restrict it… for others. What’s the saying… freedom for me but not for thee? Before I come across as overly cynical, let me just add that most Americans I’m around have a very laissez faire attitude about most things. They are just very quiet about it, living their lives peacefully. I’m a believer in the very moderate silent majority in the US. It’s just hard to notice that it exists when pretty much all mainstream media and social media are designed to favor the promotion of extremist stances.

drewcoo 3y ago

> the most vocal zealots on both extremes of the political spectrum support decidedly undemocratic positions My experience in the US is the opposite. It's only at the extremes that you'll find people concerned about our civil liberties slipping away, wanting to give everyone a voice, and accepting that there are opinions unlike their own and that's ok. Probably because people on both ends are threatened by the middle party duopoly. The middle only allows conversation about wedge issues and nothing different or more substantive. The middle both decide for whom we can vote because they're corporations, not democratic entities. They collaborate only to make sure viable 3rd parties cannot exist and to ensure their donors' demands are met. Otherwise, they return to squabbling over wedge issues that neither party actually ever solves because the wedges are too useful to be solved. Our two middle parties are fundamentally anti-democratic - maybe that's why most Americans are independent.

Technotroll 3y ago
Do you consider AOC extreme? Or do you support her positive attitude towards cancel culture? The consequence of having an even moderately contrarian opinion these days is getting fired from your job, not to meantion mob violence and threats.
- tremon 3y ago
  All top-tier US politicians are extreme in one way or another. Moderation and nuance have no place in the US' bipolar system, so the only way to be noticed and reach the top is to become an extreme caricature of whatever topic is most dear to your voters' (or donors') hearts.
  - DeathArrow 3y ago
    > o the only way to be noticed and reach the top is to become an extreme caricature of whatever topic is most dear to your voters' (or donors') hearts And doing that while you created that topic in the first place.