[aspaceman]

But no one is being forcibly shut down here.

The debate is happening. It occurs. But then someone makes a comment like above: “is all this debate really necessary?” and the response is “this is censorship”.

I would agree that some viewpoints are silenced in public contexts. But insofar as this conversation, I don’t see anyone being cancelled or shut down for an opinion. That just seems like a defensive reaction to me.

[xvector]

> But no one is being forcibly shut down here

But they are. If you are skeptical of the claims in the article, then apparently you have taken a “depressing” (incorrect/intolerant) stance.

[enumjorge]

Describing a stance as “depressing” seems like a ridiculously low bar for something to count as a forcible shut down.

[heavyset_go]

Sounds like you're upset that people are allowed to have opinions about your opinions, which would be pretty ironic.

[JacobSuperslav]

people get very defensive when others say their opinion isn't valid.

[arolihas]

That’s not what being forcibly shut down means. Somebody disagreeing with you isn’t oppression.

[RestlessMind]

> But insofar as this conversation, I don’t see anyone being cancelled or shut down for an opinion

Because this conversation allows me to be anonymous. I simply don't dare expressing my thoughts with my real identity attached. Who knows whether I will get cancelled or fired.

The people working on suppression of certain viewpoints have hurt themselves in the long run. Now I am seeing candid discussions happening only in small trusted circles or on anonymous forums. That can be another reason why we saw embarrassing polling errors in 2016/2020 - openly supporting Trump can be a very risky move for someone.