I Don’t Believe in Free Speech
November 8, 2008
Just in case it wasn’t already really obvious from the way I write and the things I have to say I want to make it totally clear: I DON’T BELIEVE IN FREE SPEECH. I don’t believe that people have a right to say whatever they want, whenever they want to. I especially do not think that peoples in privileged groups have the right to hate speech against oppressed peoples.
In writing blog this I do not participate in free speech. The speech on my blog is moderated by my respect for women of all colours. This blog is moderated by love.
I pay for the voice that I choose to speak with. I pay for the views that I hold. My speech has never been free. And I doubt that it ever will be. The price of this blog is death threats and rape threats, disgustingly woman-hating language and ideologies thrown at me and the women who participate here, disgusting race-hating language and ideologies directed at me and the women who participate here.
I would love to be able to silence those voices in the real world. I would love to gag the men who write shit to me about n****rs. I would love to gag the men and women who write shit to me about w***es. I would fucking love to throw the men who come to my blog searching for pornography into the deepest, darkest, most hellish dungeon imaginable, and throw away the key.
I would love to be able to silence men, those bores, those phallosophers, those wankers. I would love to be able to silence the women who support men’s woman-hatred and race-hatred. And here, on my blog, I can do exactly that. And I fucking love it.
I am not interested in free speech. Free speech has given me nothing and cost me much. Men and Athena’s can take their free speech and shove it where the sun don’t shine.
Radfem Hub
Gorgon Poisons 
“I pay for the voice that I choose to speak with. I pay for the views that I hold. My speech has never been free. And I doubt that it ever will be. The price of this blog is death threats and rape threats…”
Powerful words Ms Allecto. *trying to think of something deeper to say, but failing*
*hugs*
Free speech is used all the time to silenced women who speak out against male violence and hate. It used to keep others in their place.
Free speech is the luxury of those who already have power.
I as an exited prostitute don’t consider I have free speech to say that prostitution is living with terror and degradation.
Where is the free speech to say on a mass scale that is an abuse of human right.
No real speech when it is ridiculed, when threats are common, when just speaking for five minutes it shown as madness.
I would free speech is an illusion, and a very dangerous one.
Celly, hugs back. How is everything with you, by the way? Are things sorted out yet?
Rebecca, good to see you online again. Yes, free speech is a dangerous illusion. Only white men are free to speak without censor. Abused women of all colours and men in minorities are not allowed to express opposition to the whitemale social order. When we do, they attempt to silence us by any means necessary.
I’m so sorry to hear you have been threatened. *Hugs*
Pornography is not “free speech,” it is hate speech or, more exactly, misogyny (sometimes combined with racism) as any torture that happens in the pornography happened to a real woman in the real world somewhere. 😦
I would love to be able to silence men, those bores, those phallosophers, those wankers. I would love to be able to silence the women who support men’s woman-hatred and race-hatred. And here, on my blog, I can do exactly that. And I fucking love it.
Allecto, you tell ’em! This is so wonderfully said. You sure have some guts! Pornography is indefensible, I have said it many many times. Pornography is sexual terrorism, violence against women and dangerous racist material.
I agree that free speech is an illusion. Only those who are in power really have free speech.
Allecto- the patriarchists have so many other places on the Net & elsewhere where they can have their “free speech,” so why wouldn’t they leave your blog alone? Ha! Me thinks it is precisely because you speak the truth on racism, sexism & violence against women. 😉 What do you think?
Allecto- the patriarchists have so many other places on the Net & elsewhere where they can have their “free speech,” so why wouldn’t they leave your blog alone? Ha! Me thinks it is precisely because you speak the truth on racism, sexism & violence against women. What do you think?
You got it, Maggie.
Allecto,
This is so eloquent, what a balm to my being.
The phrase “free speech” makes me cringe. Yeah, speaking the truth has cost me far more than I ever want to add up.
Right the hell on.
It simply doesn’t make sense to exist–why would we use speech if it were free, if there were no cost?
We only use that term when we’ve found out the cost we’ve imposed on others and wanna weasel out. Buncha wimps. 😉
I used to be a big free speech advocate, until the day I began shyly bringing up the idea to all my free speech friends that there might be some problems with porn as it exists in our culture today.
You never saw so many people go to such great lengths to shut me up.
Free speech gives misogynists the right to say things which are horrible and misogynistic. However, it also gives feminists the right to tell said misogynists, on no uncertain terms, that they are wrong, how they are wrong, and so forth. It DOES go two ways
For example, I’ve never met a vocal homophobe who I didn’t, personally, want to silence (to varying degrees. a person who disagrees with homosexuality from a respectful standpoint is a bit higher in my estimation than, say, a guy with a “God hates fags” sign…those guys send me into a rage). however, if i take away their right to make homophobic statements, publish homophobic literature and generally share their opinions….who’s to say that MY right to say “Queers are fucking spectacular” won’t be taken away?
You have the right to administer your blog as you see fit. If I had a blog that talked about feminism, or gay issues, or anything political that I held near to my heart, I would probably police the comments as well. Perhaps not to the extent that you do, but nonetheless.
Side note, “n****rs” I’ve got, but “w***es” I’m less sure about, along with “Athenas”, which i assume doesn’t refer to the ancient greek goddess of war and wisdom.
People come to your blog looking for porn? Seriously? No hyperbole or anything?
Mary, me too. Big hugs.
Pisaquari, why would we use speech if it were free, if there were no cost?
True. I hadn’t thought of it that way before.
Amanata, I totally hear you sister.
fop, However, it also gives feminists the right to tell said misogynists, on no uncertain terms, that they are wrong, how they are wrong, and so forth. It DOES go two ways
This is just complete BS, fop. I’m sorry, but it is. No where in the world do women have right of reply to misogyny. And the hate speech of the privileged silences the voices of the oppressed. Always has, always will.
Athena:
“Those who carry out the necessary expeditions run the risk of shrinking into the mold of the mystified Athena, the twice-born, who forgets and denies her Mother and Sisters, beacause she has forgotten herself. “Re-Born” from Zeus, she becomes Daddy’s Girl, the mutant who serves the master’s purposes. The token woman, who in reality is chained, possessed, knows that she is free. She is a useful tool of the patriarchs, particularly against her sister Artemis, who knows better, respects herself, bonds with her sisters and refuses to sell her freedom, her original birthright, for a mess of respectability.” (Mary Daly in Gyn/Ecology)
More thoughts on Athena can be found in my story The Blood of Women here:
People come to your blog looking for porn? Seriously? No hyperbole or anything?
Yep, I often get traffic from men looking for child porn.
Totally agree with this!
I can empathize with your views: I have a stalker who constantly libels me on the Net. I certainly wish I could silence his libels about me.
The problem with removing free speech (totally ignoring the fact you and I would not be able to make these posts at all in such a world), is “Who gets to decide what is ‘acceptable’ speech?”.
If free speech is abolished, an authority will have to be set up, and standards will have to be set up, and it will have to be determined who (if anyone) this new authority will have to answer to for its decisions.
I was appalled when people attending political rallies were escorted out by the police. Their crime? Wearing t-shirts that disagreed with the speaker while standing quietly. No disturbing behavior or shouted interruptions. Just wearing t-shirts with mild statements that they disagreed with the majority of the attendees.
That’s where the removal of free speech hurts the most: the stifling of an unpopular minority view. The lack of free speech rarely affects the majority, because they are already expressing popular views. And yet, many of our most powerful ideas were first expressed by a minority, and many of them were initially unpopular ideas. (The Catholic Church suppressing Galileo is one of the science examples, but you can find equally compelling examples for sociology and politics as well.)
There is no doubt that aspects of free speech are painful, even detrimental at times. But without free speech, society tends to stagnate into a perpetual status quo. Even if you happen to like the status quo, is it a good idea to let a society stagnate, ever unchanging, with no significant chance for further improvement? I respectfully submit that the answer is “No.”
I am a rad fem woman who has bouts of depression here and there. I take meds that do help me and make me feel better. I am also a poet who writes about things that usually put people off because my take no prisoners language is usually considered “offensive.” I am not a phony person and refuse to censor my hard work because it could “offend people.” I write raw and truthful about some experiences in my life-some pleasant-some harrowing. I make some things up too so people can’t always tell which is which.. As long as I speak my truth-I am happy. If others want to shut me up too bad! I write about sex-rape-drugs-recovery-abusive relationships-women’s issues and more. At the end of the day I put my head on my pillow and am PROUD. Before if someone upset me I would internalize it and hurt myself. Those days are looong gone!! Here’s to freedom!!