The Growing Tyranny of Free Speech Suppression and What You Can DoOp-Ed by Paul A. Philips What were witnessing today on unprecedented levels is the denial of our self-expression through a number of uncompromising authorities taking away our right to free speech. Consequentially, were facing a crisis where citizens ability to think for themselves, communicate opinions or disagreement is seriously under threat. In schools Yes, get them at an early age so that they can be under the ruling thumb with ludicrous, moronic prohibitions and zero-tolerance policies making the schoolchildren too scared to say anything for the rest of their lives. For example, Im told that schoolchildren in some schools cannot say certain words like, for instance, gun (now referred to as the G-word). How will this growing word embargo affect the ability to communicate clearly? Political correctness Hordes of politically correct weasels and control freaks have been allowed to run amok on citizens of all ages enforcing their petty word characterizations. Here are just a couple of examples: Some UK hospital staffs have been severely ticked-off for stigmatizing patients: To avoid the so-called stigmatizing, out-patients must be called clients. Music teachers have been told that pupils cannot teach the song Baa Baa Black Sheep. In line with political correctness it must be called Baa Baa Happy Sheep! Reported for speech categorization Besides political correctness citizens are getting reported for a number of speech categorizations considered to make someone feel uncomfortable, unsafe or cause offense. College campuses are known to be the hotbed for this. Besides encouraging the snitch-community, students could be reporting each other for trigger warning, micro-aggression and red light speech categorizations In schools besides hateful speech, offending ethnic origin, sexual orientation, disability, religion teasing is now considered to be bullying. Bullying is deemed by authorities as tomorrows hate crime Social Media Bearing in mind the effects they have on government policy, besides Google, for some time social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter (see video) have been at work on what speech needs online censoring. Taking the case where youre not approved, deemed by these corporations as anti-government speech, then you will be deleted on the basis of extremism. Implications, implications?? 1. Inability to think critically Already mentioned, the suppression of certain words and speech categorizations will greatly hinder the ability to think critically and communicate views in an articulate manner because of a lack of vocabulary. 2. Easier to control and manipulate As a consequence of 1, it will make individuals that much easier to further control and manipulate. Where will it go from here? 3. Creates limited choices Language and thought creates our reality; and when greatly restricted, our choices will in turn be based on limited or even false paradigms. 4. Breeds unhealthy skepticism Typical of a totalitarian scenario, adhering to the establishments growing suppression leads to what I call unhealthy sKepticism where more and more people will become fixed, rigid and dogmatic in their beliefs. Instead of investigating, anyone seeing outside of the limited viewpoint will be ignored, ridiculed or rejected, labeled as someone to be skeptical about. 5. Encourages intolerance Weve seen a number of circumstances where dissent and public opinion has been demonized unjustly. Arent the authorities the real extremists or bullies? 6. Easier to whitewash If speech is under the control of corporations such as the social media giants (or any other mainstream media outlet) acting on government policy, then it makes it easier to manipulate the general consensus even to the point of whitewashing dubious or criminal activities. 7. Bottling-up effect The bottling-up of free speech could lead to violence and rioting on the streets through frustration in the desire to take action. Dont become an unquestioning, compliant docile sheep. Dont live your life muzzled, glued to the TV. Dont let the pillar of public apathy keep the suppression of free speech propped up and standing. Educate yourself. Understand the bigger picture of the growing tyranny of free speech suppression and spread the word. Understanding the bigger picture ought to be enough to make anyone want to shout down from the rooftops. The solution is to confront. More people need to muster enough courage to speak out about what isnt being said than ever before. Confront those politically correct weasels. Confront any control freak with ulterior motives to shut people up. Boycott the social media giants. There are a growing number of other social media outlets dedicated to alternative-view communities where youd be better off spending your time. We have to stand in the gap, maintain our constitutional right to hold up a protest sign, preserve public opinion whatever it takes to protect our freedom to speak. You can read more from Paul A. Philips at his site NewParadigm.ws Omitted is the banning of the scientific term climate change by the Florida Republican government, in a state where rising sea levels caused by climate change are causing major problems. The banned words in NYCity are a proposal for standardized testing . For example, Im told that schoolchildren in some schools cannot say certain words like, for instance, gun (now referred to as the G-word). Im told is hardly a reliable source, and the word is not banned. When you have to lie to make your point, it destroys your credibility. Teasing can lead to suicides and is a terrible example of bullying. Many forms of speech are not protected by the 1st Amendment, such as libel, incitements to discrimination or violence, and verbal abuse, such as bullying. Speech which destroys the rights of others is not free speech but hate speech, which is the enemy of free speech. Political correctness is a right wing concept which masks a resentment that racial slurs and other forms of hate speech are now disapproved by most people. Where are these anti-political correctness zealots on the banning of the term climate change in Florida? Do they really want to make racial, sexual, and gender slurs acceptable? In a world where making critical comments or critiquing of others is deemed hate speech: The terms hate speech and now extremism are Establishment tools to crush dissent by making anything the Ministry of Truth doesnt approve of verboten. Even Chomsky got that one right when he went to France to argue the law forbidding Holocaust skepticism was absurd and counter productive in a free society where open and uncensored exchanges become opportunities to educate and create a foundation of critical reasoning. Not long ago, some nitwit Borg from the California Collective submitted a state level initiative to ban Holocaust skepticism. Totalitarian tip toe. Id love to see this crap backfire. Note to SPLC operative below : automatons dont have an evolved consciousness guiding them to follow the Golden Rule. Theyre lobotomized robots. Interesting how you are concerned about what a FL politician deems to be proper terminology but have NOTHING to say about Gore et al proposing fines and punishment for skeptics of the Establishment climate change model. Hypocrisy! Already, a French meteorologist was sacked for having a contrarian opinion he expressed in a book. Shades of Sunstein (Cognitive Infiltration!) and Alinsky (Hillarys mendacity mentor). PC favors idiots. Like hilary what does it matter clinton. It was my experience that it tips the scales in favor of those that get ahead by quota. It is more than just free speech. Its a snake in the grass waiting to pounce. How can a child provide security against a bully? How can an individual provide his own security against a mob or even another nation? How can opposing hate speech, which results in discrimination or violence, lead to national suicide? Bigotry which incites violence is acceptable? Its not about hurting feelings but about inciting discrimination, violence, and in many historical cases, genocide. I find your views suicidal. Point #7 is what I feel now! And, I think that will worsen with time! I will always call a spade a spade! Hillary for President is hate speech! Straw man or sarcasm? People living in fear are not free. Freedom from fear is not the enemy of freedom but an aspect of enjoying. Fear pandering, whether by neo-cons, the NRA, or pandering politicians is however despicable. It is absurd to call me a bigot for pointing out that speech which is intended to incite discrimination or violence is the enemy of freedom. If individual libel is a crime, collective libel is a crime against humanity. Opposing crimes against humanity is part of the struggle against bigotry. You are very confused. 