Freedom and Respect

(Originally posted by me at the old version of ClawsOrPaws.)

This is a though-provoking article about an important issue. The combination of freedom of speech and respect for others is a tough one.

It is easy to say that freedom of speech should rule absolute, and that we should be humble enough to realise that our ways may not be the only, or the "right" ways. It's the right and "respectful" attitude, sure. I agree, to a degree.

But, once you have sincerely said that, you have nothing to say to those who will not respect others. I think that many different kinds of "ism" have one thing in common: they do emphatically not respect others. Still, proponents of such "isms" are likely to cite freedom of speech in support of their right to express their opinions, and also as a reply to those who would criticise their views.

I am not convinced. I sense that freedom of speech can be abused. In a sense one of the phrases of our site rules deal with the same problem: it says that we will be tolerant, but not tolerant towards intolerance.

Beneath the claim for freedom of speech for intolerant "isms", there is a double standard. They are demanding respect for themselves, while simultaneously disrespecting others. That is inconsistent.

Which goes to show that perhaps "respect for others" and "freedom of speech" are not merely two sides of the same coin. They can be at odds with each other.

So, do I think that disrespectful "isms" should be censored, and not granted the right to free speech? Well, yes, definitely on this board, lol. But if we are seeing the larger picture, a more or less democratic world, I think not. I do not think that "isms" should be censored, and I believe that doing so might even prove dangerous in different ways. I am after the right to criticise disrespect and intolerance, no matter who expresses it, in the face of "political correctivism". And that criticism might well result in the statement "You should not have said that", though not in the statement "You should not be allowed to say that".

In still other words: I do not agree that you can claim immunity from criticism by citing free speech and/or respect for different ways of thinking.