My dear, misguided Facebook friends who like to share their “opinions”,
Contrary to what you’ve been told, opinions are not all inherently equal. I hate to spell it out, but I think it’s necessary for this piece of writing: an opinion is defined as “a view or judgement about something, not necessarily based on knowledge or fact.” So yes, technically, your racism and homophobia are indeed opinions. However, that definition does nothing to suggest that “well, that’s just my opinion” is a reasonable defense when called out on it.
Saying that your favorite color is blue or that cookie dough is your favorite flavor of ice cream does not carry the same weight as saying that you don’t think gay marriage should have been legalized. The first harms nobody, but the second discounts the validity of a love between two consenting adults. Calling someone a “f*gg*t” or a “d*ke” because that’s your opinion of their existence isn’t excusable; having an opinion doesn’t entitle you to sharing it with everyone, especially when the intent is to hurt people.
A more rare, but more despicable, category of people try to insist that being called a homophobe or a racist is the same as being called an actual slur. The difference is that real slurs are specifically intended to be hurtful, while “homophobe” and "racist” are simply the words used to describe a particular mindset. What’s considered to be homophobic or racist (or whatever) can be subjective, but the vast majority of things are pretty clear cut.
The confederate flag is racist, as it was used by the Confederacy, a group of states who seceded because they wanted to keep slavery; if anyone tries to tell you it was because of state’s rights, they’re being intentionally ignorant because it was about the state’s rights to hold slaves. It was also used to intimidate people of color during the civil right’s movement. It doesn’t matter if, in your opinion, it’s a symbol of heritage because that is not the meaning of the flag. You cannot claim to use it for one thing when its entire history points it in another, very unambiguous, direction.
You cannot claim that your opinion that homosexual marriage is morally wrong is somehow superior to the opinion that it is not. You cannot hide behind the defense of “opinion” if you are actively bashing and oppressing anyone who disagrees with you. This is a level of hypocrisy that is so baffling to me; I cannot understand how anyone logical could not see that fallacy.
Not all opinions are worth sharing. If you think someone is fat, or ugly, or that their “lifestyle” is morally corrupt, there’s no reason to tell them that unless your sole purpose is to hurt them.
To conclude, I’d like to touch on the concept of free speech. Free speech does not exist to shield people from calling you out on Facebook. Free speech does not exist to stop privately owned companies to refuse to sell things. Free speech does not exist to stop television networks from firing people who air views they do not agree with. Free speech exists solely to prevent the government from stopping people from speaking out. True, it cannot stop you from sharing your terrible opinion, just as it cannot stop people from telling you your opinion is terrible.
Finally, I encourage you to think really hard before you use “freedom of speech” as a defense for what you’re saying. If that is the only reason you can think of for saying something; if “well, I’m going to say this solely because it’s not illegal” is the best you can come up with, then maybe you shouldn’t be saying it in the first place. Words are valuable, and to throw them around simply because you can isn’t a good enough reason to do it. Being able to say something doesn't mean you should.
Think before you speak. Not everything has to be flowers and love and good times, but everything should have a purpose, and that purpose should be reasonable.
Love,
Megan
