markchangizi

“It’s an emergency so we have to balance civil liberties with safety.” No! Society tries to find a balance among many competing trade offs including healthcare, defense, schools, highways, etc. BUT ONE THING NOT ON THAT LIST IS… — Civil Liberties — Civil liberties are *constraints* on action, not a utility in the mix to be compromised. Civil liberties are like property: You’re free to build a great back yard on your property, and in doing so you will encounter trade offs among grass space, deck size, pool size, fence height, etc. But notice that moving the property line is NOT on that list — it’s a fixed constraint.

Don’t confuse cancellation (BAD!) with humiliation (GOOD!). CANCELLATION If I try to cancel you, it’s an attempt to censor you. Often it comes with threats against your job, your business, or even doxxing. And often it amounts to shouting over your voice, sometimes literally. These are all a means for me to remove your voice from the public square. HUMILIATION If instead I try to humiliate you, it’s not at all an attempt to censor you. Humiliation is an organic result of pointing out your flawed arguments, inconsistent claims, special pleading, unethical behavior, or hypocrisy. When you express, you put social capital on the line. If you put forth a bad take, then I want your speech UNcensored. I want it to be broadcast widely, along with my counter-arguments, because only by doing that can your reputation actually be lowered (and mine raised, “winning” some of your social capital you put at stake). Free expression’s ability to slowly move us toward the truth depends on the reputation network’s ability to modulate people’s social capital up and down over time depending on their claims. That is, free expression depends on humiliation as a possible consequence. Cancellation, on the other hand, is an attempt to altogether undermine the processes of free expression. [For more information, find my newest book at Amazon: EXPRESSLY HUMAN]

Argue about the idea all you want. Just don’t stake the case for (medical) freedom on it.

The Great Covid Debacle introduced us all to evil first hand. No longer the stuff of history books or faraway cultures, we witnessed it ourselves. But what exactly is to be learned?

See my TED talk related to illusions and this. https://youtu.be/1xcvWSeZPbw

Find out more about my First Amendment suit at FreeX.group