How Free is Free Speech?

In a previous hub, I wrote an article about feminism and its one-sided approach to gender inequality. I cited various areas in which women are given preferential treatment, including employment, divorce proceedings and immunity from conscription, to name a few. While most of the responses were constructive, one radical lost it on me, calling me a sexist and later, a "rapist".

I discussed this with a co-worker, and she asked me why I would let someone leave a comment like that. I told her that in a society of free speech, everyone has a right to be heard, no matter what. She disagreed.

One thing my co-worker said is that she agrees with free speech, with a few exceptions. "Hate speech", for example, is something punishable here in Canada. Let's face it, in our society, racism, homophobia, sexism and anything else offensive is never received well. We know it's total crap, so why allow it? Simple. Unpopular opinions need to be heard.

There was a time when abolition of slavery was unpopular. The same goes for civil rights, women's rights and gay rights. If the attitude had always been to censor unpopular opinions, then it's safe to say that these progressive movements would have been seriously hampered, if not stopped completely.

Let's face it. Humans have been, and always will be, stupid. Silencing stupid people won't make them smarter, or help them see the error in their logic. This is why it's important to let people spout their ignorance. Doing so allows us to address it on the social or academic stage. A strong refutation is the best way to raise awareness and even change a few minds. A stupid opinion can be easily dealt with or ignored.

Do I hate Klan rallies? Yes. Do I hate Holocaust deniers? Yes. Do I hate homophobes and sexists? Absolutely. Would I have them rounded up and sent to jail or fined? Never. If we let them speak their minds, we can then humiliate them with logic, rather than inspire them to hate even more.

Many people blame the media for society's ills. Even Elvis was once seen as controversial. After Elvis we had bands like Kiss, then came Marilyn Manson, Eminem and other "vulgar" artists. Some inept parents even went as far as to blame them for their children's behavior, rather than address their own laziness and failure.

Then there are movies. Things like violence and pornography all get blamed for one thing or another. Many people want those things toned down or banned. What censor-crazy individuals don't seem to understand is that they can't silence something just because they don't like it. Instead, don't watch these movies or listen to offensive music. It's that simple.

Racism in comedy is also a fine line. Comedian Russel Peters is Indian by heritage, and his entire schtick is composed of jokes about other races, but nobody -- including myself -- has a problem with that. The same goes for Dave Chappelle or Chris Rock. However, Russel Peters sometimes takes jabs at people with disabilities. During one of his performances, he recounted how a friend of his advised him against such jokes. Why? In the words of Kyle on "South Park", when it comes to comedy and controversial jokes, "either everything's okay, or nothing's okay".

All of my comments are set to auto-approve, and for good reason. If you write a hub on a controversial topic, expect backlash. If you don't have thick enough skin to deal with haters and trolls, then stick with topics that are neutral. I can't count the number of ignorant blogs that required comments to be approved. The person would write something wrong or insulting, yet all you see are words of praise posted by mindless zombies. It's a classic case of butthurt-o-phobia.

Of course, there are exceptions. If a poster is making threats or spamming, then deleting their comments is perfectly reasonable. However, if there's even one gram of constructive commentary in a slew of hateful stupidity, I leave it there to be mocked, refuted or supported. Whatever floats your boat.

You want to slap a Swastika on your front door? Go nuts. You want to blog about white supremacy? Have at it. You may be an idiot, but you're a free idiot.