Someone, somewhere is paying for your free lunch.
This started off as a comment in surrealphantast's lj, in reference to synecdochic's post over here, and snowballed into something that desperately needs far more emphasis and exposure.
I swear that fandom needs a welcoming packet that includes the text of the First Amendment and a very blunt explanation of constitutionally protected speech and censorship and a big, bold reminder that people are supposed to grow out of the egocentric stage of speech by the time they're four.
I haven't been pleased with how SixApart management has presented Strikethough to their users - frankly, the presentation of what went on behind Strikethrough made them look like idiots, but fandom's continued insistence that LJ/SixApart is required to protect them and their speech just makes me want to bang my head into a wall. It's the exact same thing that went around when sponsored accounts came into play. Fandom acted betrayed; they had an expection that LJ/SixApart was obligated to protect them from Big Media. And no. Just no.
But this goes well beyond the issue of child porn and Strikethrough. This goes to the never-ending issue of fannish entitlement and whose speech, whose expression, is most important or valuable to the fannish community. This goes to what speech fandom values enough to protect, and who gets fucked over when the rallying cry of freedom of speech is used as a bludgeon and a shield for careless, selfish behavior. This goes to the heart of the apallingly racist (and occasionally sexist) shit that was slung and defended during the daily_deviant "miscegenation" prompt mess (witchqueen's post gives the background and link roundups are here and here).
I utterly, absolutely, vehemently support the idea of free speech and free expression and free exchange of ideas. But. BUT. BUT. Speech and expression are not fundamentally free. Please. Just sit there and repeat that for a minute. They have a cost. They have consequences. They have impact. To someone, somewhere. We wouldn't value them so highly if they didn't. We wouldn't engage with them so passionately if they didn't. We wouldn't defend our rights to write or draw or insert-your-preferred-interpretion of source material if it didn't impact us, and if we didn't want to in turn use it to impact someone else.
The thing is, that impact is not always going to be positive or welcome. We all have our blind spots. We all have moments of cluelessness. We all say stupid shit from time to time. This doesn't make us bad people. Until we sit there and pretend otherwise. When we do that, we're part of the problem. We're not free speech white knights riding to the rescue, protecting fandom from censorship or the PC police. We can't stick our fingers in our ears while shouting how our rights are being infringed and still claim that we're just protecting the whole community, and if you disagree, if you dare call us on our privilege, our ignorance, our entitlement, you're An Enemy Of Fannish Expression.
Just as person A has the right to freely express their opinion, person B has the right to freely call them on it. Free expression does not mean you get to make it all about your opinion, your words, and that's it, end of discussion, story over, door is closed. You don't get to say something inflammatory, or hurtful (deliberate or accidental) or careless, and claim "neener neener free speech you can't speak back or you're ruining it for fandom!" when someone calls you on your shit. Fandom of all people should get that, since community and exchange are our bedrock.
You absolutely have, and should have the right to express your opinion. And I absolutely have, and should have, the right to tell you exactly how stupid it is, how hurtful it is, how fucked up it is. And when your response is to stand there and stomp your feet and continue to claim, "But it's MY OPINION and you can just suck it, because my extra special freedom of speech is more important than its impact on you!", well, that's certainly your right, but don't be shocked when I tell you that it's my opinion that you're an fucking asshole who is sorely in need of a time-out.
You don't get to carelessly express at fandom, and claim persecution or opression of your freedom of speech when fandom expresses back. "It's my opinion" (and what I've come to think of the fandom version of that, "It's my kink") are not shields against criticism, and when you try to weild them as such, you are telling everyone, "Fandom is all about ME and what makes ME happy, so fuck you."
Take a good look at the icon on this post. Because you know what? You're not.
I swear that fandom needs a welcoming packet that includes the text of the First Amendment and a very blunt explanation of constitutionally protected speech and censorship and a big, bold reminder that people are supposed to grow out of the egocentric stage of speech by the time they're four.
I haven't been pleased with how SixApart management has presented Strikethough to their users - frankly, the presentation of what went on behind Strikethrough made them look like idiots, but fandom's continued insistence that LJ/SixApart is required to protect them and their speech just makes me want to bang my head into a wall. It's the exact same thing that went around when sponsored accounts came into play. Fandom acted betrayed; they had an expection that LJ/SixApart was obligated to protect them from Big Media. And no. Just no.
But this goes well beyond the issue of child porn and Strikethrough. This goes to the never-ending issue of fannish entitlement and whose speech, whose expression, is most important or valuable to the fannish community. This goes to what speech fandom values enough to protect, and who gets fucked over when the rallying cry of freedom of speech is used as a bludgeon and a shield for careless, selfish behavior. This goes to the heart of the apallingly racist (and occasionally sexist) shit that was slung and defended during the daily_deviant "miscegenation" prompt mess (witchqueen's post gives the background and link roundups are here and here).
I utterly, absolutely, vehemently support the idea of free speech and free expression and free exchange of ideas. But. BUT. BUT. Speech and expression are not fundamentally free. Please. Just sit there and repeat that for a minute. They have a cost. They have consequences. They have impact. To someone, somewhere. We wouldn't value them so highly if they didn't. We wouldn't engage with them so passionately if they didn't. We wouldn't defend our rights to write or draw or insert-your-preferred-interpretion of source material if it didn't impact us, and if we didn't want to in turn use it to impact someone else.
The thing is, that impact is not always going to be positive or welcome. We all have our blind spots. We all have moments of cluelessness. We all say stupid shit from time to time. This doesn't make us bad people. Until we sit there and pretend otherwise. When we do that, we're part of the problem. We're not free speech white knights riding to the rescue, protecting fandom from censorship or the PC police. We can't stick our fingers in our ears while shouting how our rights are being infringed and still claim that we're just protecting the whole community, and if you disagree, if you dare call us on our privilege, our ignorance, our entitlement, you're An Enemy Of Fannish Expression.
Just as person A has the right to freely express their opinion, person B has the right to freely call them on it. Free expression does not mean you get to make it all about your opinion, your words, and that's it, end of discussion, story over, door is closed. You don't get to say something inflammatory, or hurtful (deliberate or accidental) or careless, and claim "neener neener free speech you can't speak back or you're ruining it for fandom!" when someone calls you on your shit. Fandom of all people should get that, since community and exchange are our bedrock.
You absolutely have, and should have the right to express your opinion. And I absolutely have, and should have, the right to tell you exactly how stupid it is, how hurtful it is, how fucked up it is. And when your response is to stand there and stomp your feet and continue to claim, "But it's MY OPINION and you can just suck it, because my extra special freedom of speech is more important than its impact on you!", well, that's certainly your right, but don't be shocked when I tell you that it's my opinion that you're an fucking asshole who is sorely in need of a time-out.
You don't get to carelessly express at fandom, and claim persecution or opression of your freedom of speech when fandom expresses back. "It's my opinion" (and what I've come to think of the fandom version of that, "It's my kink") are not shields against criticism, and when you try to weild them as such, you are telling everyone, "Fandom is all about ME and what makes ME happy, so fuck you."
Take a good look at the icon on this post. Because you know what? You're not.