On Political Violence
We live in a time where the entrenched powers coerce media outlets into suppressing information that is not beneficial to their regime. They attempt to use social media to shape public opinion. They describe unflattering stories as misinformation or disinformation. They are fond of blaming “unfriendly” nations as the source of many of these stories. Governments have threatened media outlets with destruction if they don’t comply with their censorship edicts.
In the UK, citizens are now being arrested for expressing their opinions on social media platforms. They are accused of inciting unrest by sharing their thoughts. Wait? If I say what I genuinely think, then someone commits violent acts because they disagree, this is somehow my fault? Conflating words with the commission of violent acts is a bridge too far.
Seems we have now crossed into that Orwellian world where the governments have defined acceptable speech, as in, only those statements that support their position. All other speech must be eradicated. This creates a scenario where:
1) you simply share an anti-government social media post
2) they send out some paid disruptors to overturn a few cars and break a few windows
3) they send the police to arrest you for inciting a riot
They have now removed one more detractor from the public discourse.
Simply put, there is nothing more important than free speech. We are thinking beings. This is the hallmark of our existence. We are different from other species because we possess superior abilities of analytical thought. When we are prevented from freely sharing the results of our experiences, and our assessments of them, we are plunged into the abject hell of a completely dishonest society. A society not worth saving.
This path is lined with apathy, hopelessness, despair and ultimately a violent backlash. Now, even most pundits who ardently support free speech, will always include a disclaimer in their commentary, usually the phrase, “Of course, I reject political violence in all its forms”. They are compelled to do so in order to retain their platforms, and avoid arrest. However, when the governments will now send their henchmen to physically force you into a patrol car, then a jail cell, can you really resist with words alone? Ultimately, people will see that words will not save them.
If we’re honest, haven’t almost all current governments risen to power via use of force, prompted by the dissatisfaction of the masses? Societies collapse, then the remaining factions fight for power and control. Do we believe our future will be different? People in western industrialized nations have lived the most comfortable lives in the history of the planet, over the past 80 years. It will be interesting to see just how much repression will be required to prompt the inevitable backlash.