whiskyinmind | *rant*

I used to stutter. I still do sometimes when I'm exceptionally stressed out. I went through speech therapy when I was a kid and I got over it. Because I had a hard time communicating when I was younger the one thing guaranteed to really make me angry is when someone tells me "you can't say that".

A couple of years ago monkey_matt and I had a blazing row in the middle of the department about just that issue (yeah Monkey, it wasn't about whether to put salt in the water when cooking pasta, not after you told me I couldn't say that...)

The majority of the people reading this journal live in democratic countries. One of the basic tenets of democracy is freedom of speech. So you have a right to say anything you want, just as everyone else has the right to say the opposite, or to debate your point.

So when I see people on LiveJournal demanding that other users 'filter' posts that they disagree with it really puts my back up. Someone posts to LJ and - so long as they're not promoting illegal activity or contravening the ToS of the site - they are perfectly entitled to post whatever they want, as publicly as they want. They can say whatever they want.

If someone on that person's friendslist takes offence at what they've said, rather than demanding that the poster removes the content because it offends their poor innocent eyes, they should probably think about why that post/comment/whatever appeared on a page they frequent, and if they are so opposed to it, defriend the poster or remove them from their default flist view.*

They have no right to censor someone else's opinions.

They have every right to disagree with those opinions and say so, but trying to shut down someone else's freedom of expression? That is so far beyond not on.

Yes, there is a specific incident I have in mind here, and no I'm not going to link to it because I don't want either the original poster (who is on my flist) or the other party (who is not on my flist but who I am aware of through other friends) to be targeted as a result of what I have to say.

*I'm not talking about graphics here, it's common courtesy to post graphics (all graphics, not just ones which could be NSFW) behind a cut.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I think I know that which of you speak, and the original post and the OPs reaction to the negative post left a bad taste in my mouth.

The wording on the post that took issue with it could, perhaps, have been a little less inflamatory (and it's been edited to be such) but it was an entirely valid reaction and didn't merit a censorship/filtering call.

I'm pretty sure you do know exactly the one I meant...

I didn't see the original subject line, only the edited so as not to offend one.

It just bugs me when certain people think that they can dictate what others can or cannot say on their own journals. (And it's that exact thing that tends to kick off most of the BNF trouble...)

There is a bit of that, certainly.

People get so assured of their "place" that they get entitlement issues.

I understand. I firmly believe that people should have the right to speak their minds!

Gabrielle

I'm not sure if the internet isn't a bad thing in a way in regards to this phenomenom.

I mean, it's nice that you can meet people that share your taste and your opinions, but now, you can pretty much just surround yourself with that kind of people, never be exposed to something you disagree with, never be challenged, only positively reinforced until opinions turn to dogma and any contrary opinion is offensive.

Troubling.

This is true, I know for a fact there are people who I have on my flist who are of completely opposing political standpoints to me, and who do not agree with a lot of my ideology. But I welcome them here because the only way to learn anything is through questions. People who don't agree with what I have to say make me question what I've said, make me either back it up or explore other options.

But then... I consider myself pretty web savvy and as such deliberately encourage other opinions wherever and whatever I post. It would be incredibly easy to get stuck into a niche and never see any other points of view.

I don't think is a question of being web savvy, more of being open minded, and able to deal with different opinions.

And did you notice that I wrote phenomenom correctly. And I'm trying to say it and my tongue gets all jumbled up and shit. :D

How's the kidney? It's kidney right?

What I meant about the web savvy thing is that I'm less likely than newbies to find myself in an opinion cul-de-sac (as it were), because I know my way around forums and search engines and the like - I can find the opposing view.

Hee! I can't say tubular. Never could, but typing it really is not a problem - odd that innit?

(It is the kidney, it's getting better - I can move a lot easier today although I just freaked out the two other people in the office when I got a stab of pain and doubled over halfway across the room...)

I have kidney stones, so I know about kidney pain. :(

Yeouch!

At least the antibiotics I have will clear this up in a few days.

*hugs you gently*

I just sent you an e-mail to your the LJ e-mail address, so I'm hoping it arrives safely. Let me know if it doesn't yeah.

Cool - I can't check the email at work but I'll let you know as soon as I get home if it's there!

(if you sent it to mara_sho @ livejournal it should arrive)

Yup, that's where I sent it :)

Okay, cool, I'm not going anywhere today, I don't think.

(deleted comment)

The whole thing (on top of finding out about that whole letter writing to cancel the show crap the other day?) just got me to the point where I had to stand up and say something.

And then, as I was answering another comment higher up (I think from

velvetwhip) that I was starting to sound a li'l bit preachy these days...

Which, since you've met me you know, is just nuts!

It's the lack of new episodes - that's what it is.

It's even driving me into the realms of RPS dammit!

*grins*

It's evil I tell you.

But they're so pretty... and they're such goofballs... and they make it so damn easy...

evil.

rant

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject