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For those who stubbornly seek freedom, there can be no more urgent task than to come to understand the mechanisms and practices of indoctrination. These are easy to perceive in the totalitarian societies, much less so in the system of 'brainwashing under freedom' to which we are subjected and which all too often we serve as willing or unwitting instruments. -Noam Chomsky
Disagreement is not censorship.
Criticism is not censorship.
Debate is not censorship.
Fair opposition is not censorship.
Disagreement is not censorship.
Criticism is not censorship.
Debate is not censorship.
Fair opposition is not censorship.
So, what is?
Having your viewpoint, writing, art, criticism, opinion or other expression silenced by force, by unfair opposition, by threats, is censorship.
If someone tells me they'll kill my child if I speak at a political rally, or fire me, or burn down my house, I'm being censored. If the government passes a law depriving me of my right to say what I think about something, I'm being censored.
If someone removes my post from their website, I am being censored, although it's the website owner's right to do that... nonetheless, I'm being silenced.
However, freely expressing your opinion, forcefully and well, with documentation, even ruthlessly and brilliantly ... IS. NOT. CENSORSHIP.
It's the OPPOSITE of censorship. It's the CURE for censorship.
The remedy for speech you don't like is MORE SPEECH.
It's a complete reversal of the meaning of the word "censorship" to say that those of us who express concerns about someone's written work are "censoring" that person. No one is being censored... well, except us, who have repeatedly had our posts removed from the feedback section at Midnight Whispers, where someone made the accusation, in a sneaky way, that speaking out against a story is censorship of the author of that story.
It is a subtle and dangerous message, to say that someone's criticism of your speech is a form of censorship, because whether people do it to themselves or have it forced on them, silence is silence.
One person's right to express herself doesn't outweigh mine. If she has the right to write her story, then I, or anyone else, have the right to critique it. Freedom of expression is a double-edged sword.
Having your viewpoint, writing, art, criticism, opinion or other expression silenced by force, by unfair opposition, by threats, is censorship.
If someone tells me they'll kill my child if I speak at a political rally, or fire me, or burn down my house, I'm being censored. If the government passes a law depriving me of my right to say what I think about something, I'm being censored.
If someone removes my post from their website, I am being censored, although it's the website owner's right to do that... nonetheless, I'm being silenced.
However, freely expressing your opinion, forcefully and well, with documentation, even ruthlessly and brilliantly ... IS. NOT. CENSORSHIP.
It's the OPPOSITE of censorship. It's the CURE for censorship.
The remedy for speech you don't like is MORE SPEECH.
It's a complete reversal of the meaning of the word "censorship" to say that those of us who express concerns about someone's written work are "censoring" that person. No one is being censored... well, except us, who have repeatedly had our posts removed from the feedback section at Midnight Whispers, where someone made the accusation, in a sneaky way, that speaking out against a story is censorship of the author of that story.
It is a subtle and dangerous message, to say that someone's criticism of your speech is a form of censorship, because whether people do it to themselves or have it forced on them, silence is silence.
One person's right to express herself doesn't outweigh mine. If she has the right to write her story, then I, or anyone else, have the right to critique it. Freedom of expression is a double-edged sword.
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