… is that people are asking for censorship.
Of course they are not asking for themselves to be censored. Everything they say is correct (duh). They want people with opposing views to be censored, de-platformed, excluded from society. But of course anyone with a few more than two neurons knowns that asking for any sort of censorship eventually means asking for your own words to be censored, because, at one point or another, you are meant to say or at least think something that is not convenient.
Some people would deny they are asking for censorship as of course they are highly virtuous and censorship has a bad connotation. Just like authoritarian states do. But what would you call intimidating people into saying only things that match the narrative you support?
One example is what I have witnessed on Facebook in a group for folks who are going through or interested in the quarantine experience of those returning to the country. Most of them are staying in hotels randomly chosen by the government while paying for it themselves. You would imagine in a group aimed at being a platform for people to share their experiences and obtain information or support everyone or at least most would try their best to be constructive. What I have increasingly noticed, however, is an attempt by a few members to silence the negative reviews. “It is just 14 days” (time is a relative concept, specially when bored or under stress), “you are lucky you are even allowed to enter” (excuse me?), “staff is doing their best and overworked” (isn’t everyone? should I never complain about any service or product I pay for then?).
I think a lot of such comments make sense to a certain extent, and could be taken nicely if properly worded to show understanding. The tone matters, but we all know on the internet most individuals are not really thinking too carefully about the person on the other side of the screen. What really triggered me to write this post is that some individuals decided there were too many negative reviews for their liking and decided to go further to create posts to basically state what they think about people with negative things to say, and why it makes no sense to complain. Administrators deleted them, then another person reposted, and then people started to get bold even with people with neutral posts. A lovely example: “Welcome to … Hope you’re not like some people here who complain about how small their rooms are”. So welcoming right!
Why is it that some people would be so touchy to complaints when it has nothing to do with them? I have a few theories. One of them relates to the fact that most people in quarantine facilities are foreigners and there is a level of resentment towards them by the local population. Not only do they “steal jobs”, but they also complain the red carpet is not rolled for their entrance! The audacity! Another reason I think relates to culture and military mindset. The sacrifice of individuals for the greater good (which sometimes is terribly lacking in some places, but it is also hard to strike a good balance), and the “suck it up and be a man” mentality. Another possibility is that people are just angry and bored with this pandemic still ravaging.
The fact that some of us and we as a society are no longer keeping it together when we disagree with someone is worrying. Social media, by mostly only showing what we want to see according to our past likes, is making only it worse. We start to believe what we like is the only way. The comments I saw were not only meant at adding one’s opinions, but mainly to intimidate others into not having their own or talking about their true feelings/complaining (“welcome, but you better play by my rules”). That’s how censorship starts and this whole coronavirus crisis has been quite the example of how close we are edging towards silencing or discrediting anyone with different views.
I see it happening almost everywhere. Miss a politically correct term or use the wrong word and you are cancelled. Further explanations and apologies are in vain. Say you are skeptical towards the mainstream narrative and all of a sudden you are labelled a conspiracy theorist and social media flags your post. Don’t vote for the right party and all of a sudden you are an evil person. Everything good you’ve ever done forgotten. When did we become so tolerant to intolerance? When did it become cool to be bitterly simplistic? When did we agree that diversity of bodies is good but not of ideas?
Luckily there is still some people who believe in freedom of thought and speech and I do believe the movement is probably growing as a reaction to recent censorship-related trends (such as big tech interference and unjust punishment of whistle blowers). Just hope we can be as loud as the ones asking for voices to be silenced. The world is better off when we are exchanging ideas, listening to different perspectives, asking the uncomfortable yet necessary questions and, well, giving honest feedback or even complaining. That’s how we move forward. (& avoid a few therapy sessions working on suppressed feelings:))
