Over the last year or so, and the last couple of months especially, there's been a certain mindset among internet users (or perhaps just Americans) that celebrities and entertainers should avoid discussing politics or current events at all costs. It could be that they don't want entertainers to alienate their fans or audiences, but as far as my experience goes, it seems more accurately that some people believe those in the public eye don't deserve to be open with their opinions simply because of their platform and position. As I'm sure my approach to the subject has made obvious, there's something inherently problematic with this point of view. Public personalities have just as much, or perhaps even more, of a right to express their viewpoints and beliefs as the rest of us.
Yesterday, I was watching the Co-Optional Podcast on YouTube which has a regular cast of three popular YouTubers (Jesse Cox, TotalBiscuit, and Dodger) who usually talk about video games for the three-hour duration of the podcast. In the episode I watched last night, however, they took the first ten minutes or so to openly condemn the shooting at the mosque in Quebec as well as Donald Trump's new Muslim ban. Jesse Cox, who I follow on Twitter, has been making a point of continuously addressing the anti-immigration rhetoric that's become very common by the current White House administration. But the replies to all of his tweets are filled with things like "stick to talking about video games" or "don't talk about politics" as if he doesn't have the right to discuss the same topics and ideas that the rest of us do.
The problems with that are twofold. First of all, those in the public eye have the same number of opinions and beliefs as the rest of us. The only difference is that they have a much larger audience and platform from which to express their views. Like the rest of us, even public figures want to try and make a change or make a difference with the platform that they do have and use that to try and spread the word like anyone else would. To try and tell these people what they should or shouldn't talk about is censorship (the second problem) which is an active infringement on people's rights, and as far as I know, everyone except our current president and his administration tends to be against the idea of censoring ideas. Censorship is oppression, and if you are someone trying to silence public figures, consider if you're someone who wants to be an oppressor.
I realize, of course, that my article from last week was about calling out or even refusing to support public figures who have dangerous and harmful beliefs. But that doesn't mean we should prevent them from talking about the things they believe. Everyone is responsible for their own opinions, choices, and beliefs whether they're dangerous or peaceful ideas, and everyone makes the choice as to whether or not they want to discuss certain things. But that's the point. They get to make the decision as to what they talk about. They get to face any potential consequences, and as far as I can tell, many public figures are openly prepared for that when they express themselves. But we cannot try to tell them what they're "allowed" to discuss. We cannot promote censorship.
