Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
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Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
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Re: Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
#2It's from 2012, it's a reposting of https://youtube.com/watch?v=BiqDZlAZygU
Re: Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
#3I believe that an intelligent person should be able to hold two conflicting perceptions at the same time.
Therefore, I understand and accept that free speech is a foundation for a civilized life, that there should be no restraints on free speech.
But, I also acknowledge that free speech isn't so free at all. For a long time and in many places in the world there are minorities without the right to speech. And the barriers aren't just authoritarianism. In many places, even in democratic countries, there are non-formal mechanisms to restrain the speech of women, ethnic and sexual minorities.
When an European soccer fan shouts "monkey" to a dark skinned African or Latin American player of an adversary team there is a lot more than free speech at play (e.g.: google for "Vinicius Jr Valencia"). There is the fact that the power of black people to respond and argue is severely constrained in Europe, even more with the rise of anti-immigrant right-wing parties. The key issue here is that the channels of expression are not free, are not open. The same thing goes for, say, women in South Korea, Christians in Muslim countries, Muslims in India, native American people in Latin-America, etc.
Wanting "free speech" to justify oppression of a minority that is already constrained in their speech is not exactly advocating freedom. A lot of times it is advocating hypocrisy.
Re: Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
#4Sometimes missing in these debates is that right to free speech isn't the right to be listened to.
Re: Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
#5I believe that an intelligent person should be able to hold two conflicting perceptions at the same time. Therefore, I understand and accept that free speech is a foundation for a civilized life, that there should be no restraints on free speech. But, I also acknowledge that free speech isn't so free at all. For a long time and in many places in the world there are minorities without the right to speech. And the barr…
> There is the fact that the power of black people to respond and argue is severely constrained in Europe, even more with the rise of anti-immigrant right-wing parties. The key issue here is that the channels of expression are not free, are not open
Admittedly, I haven't lived in every European country, but I've lived in enough for an eyebrow to be raised nearly off my face at this. Even with what's happening in Italy right now, I couldn't say "the power of black people to respond and argue is severely constrained".
Re: Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
#6I believe that an intelligent person should be able to hold two conflicting perceptions at the same time. Therefore, I understand and accept that free speech is a foundation for a civilized life, that there should be no restraints on free speech. But, I also acknowledge that free speech isn't so free at all. For a long time and in many places in the world there are minorities without the right to speech. And the barr…
> When an European soccer fan shouts "monkey" to a dark skinned African or Latin American player of an adversary team there is a lot more than free speech at play
are you saying the african soccer player is lower in rank than some idiot fan?
im also sure barack obama was much in a bad power dynamic to people that call him monkey president? those guys have all the institutional power, ey?
Re: Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
#7Old man ranting into the abyss. Perhaps that worked in his day but in these days of bot farms, ai generated bullshit, deepfakes and state sponsored trolling it’s unworkable.
Re: Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
#8There seems to be a generational divide on this topic. A lot of younger people seem to be fine with restrictions on free speech, often under the guise of various progressive causes
Re: Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
#9I believe that an intelligent person should be able to hold two conflicting perceptions at the same time. Therefore, I understand and accept that free speech is a foundation for a civilized life, that there should be no restraints on free speech. But, I also acknowledge that free speech isn't so free at all. For a long time and in many places in the world there are minorities without the right to speech. And the barr…
I agree with the sentiment of what you are saying. I agree with Mr Atkinson (and Obama apparently) that the solution to speech that causes offence is more speech. The problems as I see it are twofold. The first is that 'more speech' presumably means better speech, better rhetoric, better arguments, and I don't see many people in society these days with these skills. If anything universities have taken backwards step in providing students with these skills. If more speech is just more insults in the other direction... then I'm not sure it helps.
The second is that our speakers are often anonymous. I think its much easier to be angry with those who are one step removed (e.g road rage) than one to one.
So in a world where people were better equipped to argue their points and where everyone involved was identifiable, online or off - the 'more speech' idea could work.
Re: Rowan Atkinson on free speech (2012) [video]
#10There seems to be a generational divide on this topic. A lot of younger people seem to be fine with restrictions on free speech, often under the guise of various progressive causes
The book banning and restrictions on content in classrooms in Florida are further examples of people being fine with restrictions on speech.
At this point it's pretty disingenuous to lay the blame entirely on the left, or the young.