“There is freedom of speech, but I cannot guarantee freedom after speech.” – Idi Amin
Listen: A blog post isn’t going to change anyone’s mind about free speech. Freedom of speech quotes, however expertly they may have been curated, are not poised to make some pink-haired, nose-pierced, garishly-tattooed liberal arts student put down their hashtag pitchfork and reconsider whether they’re actually doing good by demanding the public crucifixion of anyone whose point of view falls right of Mao Zedong’s.
“Hate speech isn’t free speech.” This axiom, whenever it is bleated, should make any rational person’s skin crawl. It supposes that speech can be classified as acceptable or unacceptable and that someone has the duty to suppress the latter class.
No one has, and no one ought to. Perhaps in a perfect world, there could exist a ruling body that genuinely keeps its people’s best interests in mind when it bans the expression of objectively hideous sentiments. But this ain’t no perfect world, babe. If you’ve ever stepped on a wet patch of floor right after you put on fresh socks, then you have to know it.
The second you create authority, only authoritarians will allow themselves to have it. Let them control what you’re able to say, and the second it gives them an advantage they’ll slam the Overton window shut so hard it’ll cut off your fingertips. Justify restricting speech to protect the oppressed until you’ve run out of breath; it won’t change the fact that the oppressed are never the ones who control what others are allowed to say.
“Allowed to say!” We shouldn’t even be allowed to say such words. No one really gives a rat’s patoot what anyone has to say, anyway. It’s what they’re able to think that counts, and that’s the absolute devilry behind all of it. What your enemies really want is to control your thoughts. Removing your tongue is just outpatient lobotomy.
Continue reading “Edward Snowden Hope: New Design + Freedom of Speech Quotes”
