Words are nothing. They do not represent reality. They are noises that have been ascribed meaning. And then over the years, judgment and value have been placed on words. The idea that some words are unspeakable or some ideas are hate, chills me to the bone. i can, and will, always say what I want, what I think, what I see. Any laws around speech in America are related to intent, not words said. You cannot prove intent. We do not live in the minority report. It is a violation of our human born freedoms to criminalize the interpretations of someones pre emptive actions. Until the crime is commited, there is no way to be sure the perpetrator would have gone through with it. If you can arrest someonbe for intent, then arrest every single human. Intent isnt action. Words are intent, or action. Words are sounds. Action is action. And no law should be in the business of mind reading.
I have never let anyones words inside me. When I was first bullied at age 9, my Mom told me to just ignore it. Don’t let it affect me. They are just jealous, intimidated, feel bad about them selves. Just cause someone says something, does not mean it is true. So I never internalised anything anyone ever said to me after that. Not even what my parents thought. I hate to be influenced by any one elses words. Why should someones words affect the action I want to take? I think things through and know what feels right for me. If I let someones words change my perspective on reality then I am further from experiencing reality as myself. This is how most people end up regreting things. Do not regret the things you have done but those you did not do. People who regret things they have done, did them cause of someone elses influence. People who don’t do things, do so cause of someone elses influence. The only reason to regret something is if you weren’t doing what you wanted. But this is how most people live. It is incomprehensible to me.
If someone calls me a fat bitch, I don’t suddenly worry that I am in fact fat, and am intentionally mean to people. No, I know myself. Insult the work I do. Cool. That is your opinion. I don’t feel bad about myself cause you feel bad about yourself. How would I let someone who doesn’t understand me or know me or lived as me, tell me who I am?! If someone said I shouldn’t live in a bus, I would have anyway as I had figured it out. I know they haven’t thought about it in the way I have and have no idea of my capabilities. They are projecting their own fears.
You cannot incite violence. You can only comit it. If you say “go murder dave”, no one has to acknowledge you. No one has to act on it. The person acting on it, decided to mind read, assume you meant it, and act on it, ie “wont someone rid me of this meddlesome preist”. “Go riot”. Well you don’t have to. If you take someones words as a command, then that is on you. Do you not have a brain? Do you not have the ability to say no, to walk away, to resist? Its not hard.
Hate speech isn’t real. You are implying you can mind read. “I want to murder all gays.” I can say that. It doesn’t mean anything. It is a string of words. If you, as a gay, take that statement as a threat, that is cause of your insecurity and believe that you are a persecuted victim. You have NO idea what I ACTUALLY think about gays. I just said words. Words are not a reflection of my thinking. I could say “I want to eat all the gays.” It is meaningless. My words are not a reflection of my intent or opinion. I actually don’t really like “the gays” any more, and I can say that, cause its my opinion. If MY opinion offends you, then you have a unaddressed issues. I know people hate me cause of my work. I know I could be accused of being “a mentally ill, privilidged, nasty, slut, prostitutue trash whore, retard, homophobic, racist, who can’t survive doing anything else apart from getting her clothes off. She is a lonely, bitter old cat lady.” Oh right, I am am I? That is what you think, but I know myself and don’t see myself this way. You can put your perspective onto my reality, but your perspective cannot change what I understand and have experienced in reality. Also, the statement is correct, it is just using brutal language. To many people, being a sex worker and a promiscuous woman, is disgusting. Privilidge tho, is that an insult? Not to me. Same for any word. It is only an insult if you take it that way. You can observe the judgement the speaker is putting into the word, but the actual word has no power or meaning. Racist, ok, so what? I know what I think. I know how I treat real people outside of conceptual work. I don’t think having thoughts about a races culture or stereotypes makes me a bad person or racist. If you think it does, so what? We won’t know each other. I don’t care. And you should not care that I exist, thinking dangerous thoughts. Unless someone has actual power to change laws, rules, or norms then they are not a threat. Individuals opinions are not ideologies. Ideologies are dangerous. Opinions are not. And if you think my bad opinion is dangerous, then thank you, you think I am as powerful as I do!
I saw a video of a guy standing with a sign that was meant to provoke. Something about women. Now, if I saw him, I would have said to myself, oh here is someone looking to provoke. Why would I give someone like that what they want? Are you that much of dumb simple puppet that you have to walk up and react exactly as he wanted? No one need interupt their day and peace to go attack this man for his opinion. That is their choice. The mature, enlightened, human thing to do, is to look away, walk away, do not engage. But in that video, many people walked up and would not give up. He clearly was being cheeky and yet these people felt it was their right and place to attack him and try to change his mind. It looked so pathetic. Those people want trouble. They want to feel bad, they want to feel attacked, a victim, standing up for a cause. But it was just one bloke with a sign. He won’t be changing any laws, any rules, any social or cultural standards. But many people felt threatened enough by one mans words, they had to engage. You engaging, IS the negative effect in the world. You getting upset and hurt by someones words is the only harm words can cause. And that is on you for lacking emotional resilience. If you don’t let someones words affect you, then words are harmless and meaning less!
So many people are lead by their lizard brain, they are calling out for censorship. They do not acknowledge any agency. They are puppets, blown about in the wind by other peoples words. Its truly pathetic. How about instead of censoring, making hate speech and suggesting some words or phrases are criminal, we teach people to elevate themselves above it. Words are NOT reality. Each person is 100% responsible for their experience of the world. I cannot and do not wish to control anything anyone thinks. Its facinating learning why people think the ways they do. I have had drinks with murderers, gangsters, pimps, prostitutes, drug dealers, pedo killers, old boys, ghetto boys, narc women, narc men, gamblers, racists, people with a myriad of “hateful” opinions. Not once did it affect me. I heard their stories. I observed them as their whole. Their perspective on the world adds to my understanding of reality, but it can’t change my experience of reality. I do not let words cloud reality, especially other peoples. Teach people resilience and self belief. Teach them to realize opinions are as common as assholes and we are all born with them and a right to express them, as we have a right to shit. We don’t have to handle others excrement, and other people shitting, doesn’t change how you shit. Same with words.
