Censorship - the creeping assassin of free speech.
Watch this postWe have a tendency to 'self-censor' our own thoughts; for instance, when we encounter someone who smells; we refrain from asking 'have you never heard of soap and water stinky?' We do so, for two reasons. 1 Consideration for the person's feelings. 2 Because we don't know how they will react and we might get a punch on the nose. This innate tendency for self-censorship has now been hijacked by the PC brigade to the extent that now even the most innocuous comments can be deemed 'offensive' to some people. Mary Whitehouse will be turning in her grave, wishing she could be alive today, she would be the darling of the lovers of political correctness. Media editors and website moderators also wield immense power when it comes to views which conflict with their own. 'I don't like what you have written/said, so I won't publish it.' But, do we need Big Brother to decide what we can and can't say, after all, when freedom of speech has been stifled, freedom of thought will be next on the list.
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Someone once said, 'if you want to know who controls you, first find out who you are not allowed to criticise.' That may not be a verbatim quotation, but it's close enough.
Where is this leading us, and what can we do to counter the erosion of our cherished free speech?
Watched the Bake Off programme the other night, and yes there were a couple of double innuendos but nothing really too awful when you think of what once was allowed to be said in a comedy programme, and I do presume although the baking part of this programme is serious, there is no reason why there shouldn't be a bit of comedy. The next day there was an article in the paper about people complaining about what had been said by the presenters including Mary Berry as if they had committed a cardinal sin. Maybe I am naive, but I didn't know what some of the words that upset some people even meant. Not sure whether Mary Berry knew about sticky grass. I certainly didn't although having given it some thought have an idea. My OH had not heard of that as being upsetting to some people.
I was immediately taken to task and told it was now called a chalkboard. The word blackboard could cause offence. I asked how precisely when clearly it is a board and is black? I got a psycho babble response.
Late,r passing the same person, I heard her telling a colleague about something she uses the whiteboard for. The irony was completely lost on this idiot.
Like you I believe the PC brigade have taken over to the extent that things are censored too much.
What may appear reasonable to one person can offend the sensibilities of the other, you therefore spend most of your time treading on eggs shells in case some one is offended at something you say. No thought is given to you as an individual who may be offended by the very action of being censored because one person has objected to a particular word. Having said that I do believe a degree of censorship is necessary.