I am not targeting any group, race or religion or whatever, just an observation why does it seem that freedom of speech appears to invoke an image of a defence to be an asshole?

I get it, free to speak your mind and all and sometimes hard truths need to be said that but is the concept so out of whack that people have less empathy for others that they don’t agree with that they antagonise another to the point of disrespecting the right to dignity?

It seems like humanity is hard wired for conflict and if it isn’t actively trying to kill itself it seems to find an outlet for violence some way somehow. Maybe it is social conditioning or just some primal urge that makes humans human.

I don’t even know where else I could ask it, and it seems kind of stupid to think about so… have at thee

  • MeetInPotatoes@lemmy.mlEnglish
    31·
    1 year ago

    I feel like this mostly happens online, and relates to “Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory”

    In addition, the phenomenon of social media has made everyone decide that what they have to say is just as important as a Nobel Prize Winner or president because all of our tweets and posts look the same. Everyone gets a virtual podium. To relatively insignificant people, the notion that they can shout back at a famous person or expert and appear to be on equal footing is too enticing to resist. A great example is someone who never spent a single day in med school trying to tell our nation’s health experts that they were wrong about COVID for instance. The number of people with absolutely zero qualifications that thought their argument was worth making was depressing. Most would never do that in public and if they did, would simply be escorted out of the room and forgotten.