Fancy title Isn’t it? I believe, as I hope you will, before it is over with you will understand the nuances of it’s meaning. In this post I will be going over some things that may seem unrelated at first, but will come together to in the end to make a point. In this post I will be going over why you see only a fraction of the posts on this site that you used to, and the reason for this is I want to use MYSELF as an example of what NOT to do.
First off. Am I hypocrite? Did I JUST pull a James Gunn and delete multiple posts on account of what others may think? My answer to these will be revealed in time, even if I can honestly tell you NO, you have no way of taking that answer at face value so I won’t insult you by expecting you to. What I will tell you is that if you are a long time reader and follow along in all the things I say and do, you will find that I STILL hold to pretty much all of the PRINCIPLES and BELIEFS that you read about in those deleted posts. The reason that I deleted them is because I did not connect the dots very well. I had a very dark perspective that had come from a still very raw emotional state and though I did work my way into a more balanced mindset, I was finding that only certain posts were drawing attention and rather than risk someone being inspired by only part of the story, I opted to eliminate that risk in favor of sharing the more complete perspective that I am in a far better place to do now than I was. Does this count as self censorship? In a way it can be considered as much, maybe a little more like self revision, I simply found a better way to convey it.
A more direct form of self censorship would be, not speaking in church, in the same manner as you would with your friends watching a football game. A recognition of there being a time and place for everything, based in respect for others. An example of how I apply this would be….notice the lack of profanity in the last couple posts…..Not only is it a far cry from even many of the previous posts from years back that still remain, but it shows refining a method…..Here, Twitter on the other hand is my play ground, and I tend to say what I want and even then as time has went on I handle my interactions with others differently than what I post on MY wall with the idea that if you don’t like it….Look somewhere else. That is what the mute and block options are for. Here I am attempting to reach a broader audience. The point is self censorship works…BECAUSE it is a choice.
There is however another type of censorship and that is imposed censorship. This is a form of censorship we are seeing more and more of in modern times. Imposed censorship is generally enforced by taking a negative aspect of the few and blanketing everyone with an opposing view under the label of that negative aspect in order to coerce the majority into demonizing any view that opposes the censoring party whether it fits into the over generalized negative box or not. The more the censoring party accomplishes this, the more we then begin to see organized systems and even legislation put into place cementing the silence.
Now I will tell you why imposed censorship is a doomed course that accomplishes absolutely nothing. First off, even if the censoring party does their best to convince you that it is for the greater good, this is inherently a lie. It is a lie because, unlike self censorship which is choice driven and usually done with a measure of respect, imposed censorship is about forcing an idea on someone whose mind may tend a different direction, making it less about the overall value and more about the consequence. Already it sets a tone with defensiveness that is non-conducive to a peaceful outcome. This isn’t saying someone is dangerous because of actions taken but rather thoughts. Threatening to spank someone does not take these thoughts away. Education and debate takes those thoughts away through transforming the mindset towards a more balanced place. Imposed censorship blocks the very means to change by making a topic taboo to even bring up. When the destructive mindset remains, the mind finds other avenues to manifest itself.
A majority of the people dealing with everyday life, like the comfort of being told what to think and do, but inherently need the option to decline if they so choose. Imposed censorship strips them of that option, through CONTROL. History and even current events around the world have shown us that when people get their willpower beat down enough through Imposed CONTROL they will reach a breaking point in one of two ways. They will either become a destructive force, or become too weak to function. Neither option provides for anything but a bleak future outcome.
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