Amy Alkon: "Should Have Known Better Than To Speak My Mind On Politics."
My question to Amy: "Why should you?" You have the right to speak your mind on politics just like anyone else. If people don't want to be your friend because they don't hold the same views, what kind of "friend" could they possibly be?
My question to Amy: "Why should you?" You have the right to speak your mind on politics just like anyone else. If people don't want to be your friend because they don't hold the same views, what kind of "friend" could they possibly be?
posted by Helen Smith at 11:04 AM
10 Comments:
An excellent and abiding question.
I had a comment on my Weblog that was, in essence, "I'm offended by what you say. Please keep your opinions to yourself". Uh, it's a Weblog, Skippy. Opinions happen on those things.
I had a comment on my Weblog that was, in essence, "I'm offended by what you say. Please keep your opinions to yourself".
Furthermore, it's YOUR weblog. If the commentor doesn't like your opinions, he/she is free to go elsewhere. It's like someone being a guest in your house and complaining about what you say. That person can leave, voluntarily or otherwise.
You'll be lonely if you're not a Kneejerk in the land of the Kneejerks. The shaming/shunning mechanism there is powerful.
A person who wishes to express their opinion while not hearing any other opinions is nothing more than a spineless egotist. Anyone has the right to keep their own opinions to themselves. If you own a particular location (your home or business), then you can insist that people either follow your own rules or leave that location.
No person owns the space around them. You do not have the right to control what goes on within earshot of you, especially not in public. You can make requests, but you have no actual authority. Those who claim such authority deserve nothing short of contempt.
Bob,
Maybe people need to learn that being lonely is not the worst thing in the world. Being "shunned and shamed" by people who are supposed to be friends is a lot worse. Personally, I would much prefer to be lonely.
Helen
To at least some degree, you have an obligation to speak you mind. People like Amy Alkon's friend, who believe in totalitarianism, need to have their world shaken up. If it destroys a friendship, so be it. We commit a sin of omission when we fail to speak out for our beliefs. I expect people to challenge my beliefs. As long as they do it reasonably, I don't mind.
I think women are worse than men for this, as well as leftists being worse than rightists. I had a 25-year friendship over in an instant for saying what I thought about some controversial subjects. I tried to repair, but she wasn't interested.
Know what you mean, Shag. I've been "deleted" from people's lives that I have known for many years over lefty loosey - righty tighty subjects.
If you have not lost a friendship over politics, you are not man. Or a thinking person.
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