Night Terrors

Why are people so frightened of expressing opinions nowadays.

It seems such a shame. Life is so much more interesting when somebody does take a position. It's even been made into a type of therapy - dialectical therapy. 

The concept of duel and debate has defined our constitution with two sides of Parliament and the argument that results. Three's a crowd after all. 

But people are scared to express opinions nowadays. It is not just social media - where somebody can be crucified anonymously on Twitter. It is not just Trip Advisor when cowards pretend  attack buildings or enterprises as they plunge knives into real hearts, real souls and drain the lifeblood from an individual. They have that blood on their hands.

These are all interfaces where people can be cruel without thinking of themselves as cruel people. But it reaches beyond this into friends and families. If you can't talk about everything, then you suppress. 

Suppression, it can be argued, is never really any good.  

Expression on the other hand means we can turn an argument round if it appears faulty. Or catch a paedophile if he turns up to a sting organised through the dark net. Guilty by expression is proper guilty. Guilty by thought - well as far as I am concerned that is what innocent is. I planned a jewel heist this evening. What are you going to do about it? 

With expression comes clarity and when you are dealing in words alone expression is everything.

I'm not 100% about every opinion I may articulate. I may articulate it simply to be playful or provocative or funny. Who are you to assume I mean what I say? Who the bloody hell are you? Get over yourself. Grow up!

You can sign pretty much any controversial comment off with a smile. 

That smile may not appear on Twitter or Facebook or even in this written word. But it might well be there. What's the crime - Omitting an emoticon?

I love Hitler. Are you offended? Did you see the smile? Did you see the wink? Get over it.

I eat small babies for breakfast on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Do I really need to add on..."not really". Do I really need to hear you say back..."well it wasn't funny anyway". 

Why is this all about you? 

The fact is I could make both those lines appropriate in quite a few contexts. But I am not here to teach. Well, here maybe, but not outside this weblog. Not when I am off the clock.

People need to explore their own reactions,  not be overworried about somebody else's. So that's the point isn't it? People don't express themselves because they are so worried what somebody not just might think but may well articulate. 

That person may be a neighbour, an employer, a potential employer or somebody you might want to call you racist or sexist or some other *ist they haven't come up with yet. 

So what do you do? Don't express yourself.  Just choose to be fearful and reach for the anxiolytic.

I don't love Hitler. His domination scared millions of people into not expressing themselves.

People were terrorised into silence, even denial of their own seed. But it occurred to me to write this not just as a general point but as a specific point.

I was thinking that nobody could really say something that I would find offensive.

I've given you a couple of examples there, with the shoe on the other foot. The idea of me finding you offensive saying such things would be slightly offensive. But in fact it is so odd, I would find it funny that you thought it of me.

An argument you offer on the other hand that I disagree with is an interesting conversation waiting to be had. As long as neither of us get angry or upset or  "become too judgemental. 

And there's another word - judgemental. 

As I make my judgement of the situation (because we are all 'judgemental' - nice definition) it is much more likely to be the potential offendee who is going to be 'judgemental' - nasty definition. 

In the traditional way - the way I am required to fear. 

The thing is that I'm just not one of those people who has ever come up with the phrases "Guess what he said" "Guess what she said", "You know what she said next?", "You know what he did then?".

I wonder if you could speculate as to the gender of the people who might say things like that. I leave that to you. 

I am not a sexist. There are very few words that you can say to me that I won't look upon or consider with a mild amusement,  even if they're not funny. Amusement is the interrogative process I generally use, either to generate a creative counter-argument or something else. 

So what I'm getting at is I suppose is this. 

Say what you like. 

Say what you think. 

Talk to me. You have nothing to fear from me. 

If you have just killed a man, I will tend your wounds. 

If you've just punched a dog, I will try and work out why you were angry. 

If you want to harm yourself, I will tell you I care and mean it. 

When you're in the same room as me, you are safe.

(This entry was a 7 minute stream of consciousness before I turned out the light last night, transcribed verbatim by software with only punctuation added manually).