[krapp]

>By silencing others you’re simply depriving yourself of your own right to hear them out.

Why do we need to hear racists and bigots out? Their garbage opinions are neither novel nor of value to society, and the groups they target are well aware of the prejudice exists against them.

[rayiner]

What is “racist” or “bigoted?” My family is Bangladeshi on both sides going back to time immemorial. But white people would consider much of what my mom would have to say about Bangladeshi culture “racist.” In the last decade, I’ve watched white people’s fear of being called racist force them to adopt basically a “noble savage” view of developing countries and as indigenous communities, where they’re forced to think of every problem in those societies as being caused by white people, because it’s taboo to talk about those societies’ flaws. That has real world negative effects—it chills honest discussion and empowers opportunists who realize they can amass more power railing against British colonialism than fixing social and cultural problems.

As someone from the developing world, the most important question to me is how did Britain colonize Bangladesh instead of the other way around—despite our head start? What are the things that make a people prosperous? You can’t have these conversations anymore. As a result the entire field of social sciences academia has been overtaken by ideas like “decolonization” instead of thinking about cultural innovation.

Would you run a startup that way? Trying to remove Apple or Google cultural influences from your organization?

[rscoots]

I’ll decide what’s ‘novel’ and ‘of value’ for myself thanks. Which will require the right of ppl to express their conscience. Don’t need Boris Johnson’s (or anyone else’s) govt deciding this for me under threat of jail time.