https://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/06/01/defend-say/
"I Disapprove of What You Say, But I Will Defend to the Death Your Right to Say It." - Evelyn Beatrice Hall
this post was submitted on 19 Jan 2025
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Within reason.
The line is very clear: You have those rights ... so long as they do not encroach on the freedoms of others.
If someone wants to say there is a master race, the earth is the center of the universe, Elvis is still alive, etc... Sure: they're free to say it. But people who know better are also free to debate them - and prove them wrong. Like it or not we are better for it having the discussion. Recall that at some point people were put to death for expressing beliefs that opposed the norm in science and religion. It is important to debate and not silence people - repression breeds hate and promotes an us vs them mentality. It results in echo chambers.
Are there people that simply cannot be reasoned with? Yes. But it's important to engage with them and be a dissenting voice. It's important to demonstrate clearly that someone opposes their viewpoint. Important to the unreasonable person? Probably not. Important to those who are listening? Yes. If you do not engage- all those who are listening hear is the viewpoint of the ignorant and the apparent silence of the indifferent.
Moderates fuck this up frequently... and I'm saying this as someone who, in many cases, considers myself a moderate.
Edit:
It's been a busy day but I finally have time to sit and read through the rest of the comments in this thread. What an interesting result.... genuinely. Lots of people expressing their own beliefs and their interpretation of things I said. Not everything lined up and not everyone agreed... but this right here is what we need more of. Good stuff 🍻
Thank you boys. Thank you.
A-are you actually comparing Elvis conspiracies with racial supremacy? Sounds like your logic doesn't go further than "freedom of speech = good"
You say rights exist until they encroach on others' freedoms. But promoting ideas of racial supremacy directly encroaches on others' basic freedoms and safety. By your own logic, those views forfeit their protection.
You argue it's important to demonstrate opposition to harmful views. That's exactly what content moderation is - society collectively demonstrating opposition to ideas that threaten democratic values and human dignity.
You claim repression breeds hate and echo chambers. But platforming hate speech (by claiming they're something to be "debated") creates echo chambers of hatred and drives away the very people you claim should be engaging in debate. Your approach actually reduces genuine dialogue.
You reference people being killed for scientific beliefs. But you're comparing the persecution of evidence-based scientific inquiry to the restriction of propaganda designed to harm others. These aren't remotely equivalent - you're actually trivializing historical persecution.
You're basically saying "we must protect Alice's right to a safe home by platforming Bob's right to debate burning it down."
Also your whole "But people who know better are also free to debate them - and prove them wrong" - completely disregards the physical reality of the burden of proof - it takes 0 effort to say "yggstyle hates people of color and that's why they argue for people to have the freedom to say anything" - and now it's on you to prove me wrong - but every time you spend time trying I'll just claim a new ridiculous thing - absolute "freedom of speech" is a godsend for bad faith actors.
I hope you can see why this rhetoric is bullshit and why people should not support anybody's "freedom of speech" to debate people's rights to exist.
To me, this demonstrates importance of good faith arguments. It indicates that yes, some people should be effectively silenced for their beliefs.
I say “effectively” because he’s right that it IS a good safety net when things you say cannot hurt you. People correct toxic viewpoints like “Why are immigrants the cause of so much crime?” only by being allowed to ask the question and getting corrected.
The ideal case of fixing bad faith arguments would be: Someone engages in repeated zero-effort fake claims as you described at the end, and after the first round is corrected, everyone involved in that conversation declares “All right, this is a bad-faith argument; you’re not genuinely curious about the response, you’re just trying to force a reaction.” And then, ideally, finding ways to de-platform the individual. Again, “effectively” denying them speech by simply not assisting them with theirs. To me, that’s the role of what many call “Cancel Culture”, and I’d want it to be a stronger thing.
I will also say: You made a LOT of claims in your post that the above poster did not make. I was very much considering a downvote, although I agree with the dangers you’re talking about. Ironically you’re exemplifying some of the problems with cancel culture taking effect without conversation and understanding.
First and foremost - Yes: Thank you. I noticed your comment initially when skimming before my big response... and thought "this person gets it."
I have nothing meaningful to add to what you said: you understood the importance of discussion - you had opinions and expressed them. You spoke up against something you perceived as incorrect.
Cheers. While it's self serving for me to say it: responses like yours give me hope.