Persuasive Essay

Internet Censorship?

The world, in all honesty, is a sick and twisted place. It is filled with sick and twisted people, thinking sick and twisted things. Thirty years ago, that was fine. People simply got on with their lives, keeping their sick and twisted nature to themselves. For a misogynist, racist, or bigot to actually have their thoughts promulgate outside their tight knit communities, they would have to get up off their couch and do something about it. That's not to say that many of those people weren't successful in conveying their sick and twisted message, but it took a heck of a lot more time and effort than in the modern era.

The problem today, however, is this tiny little screen with tiny little buttons which allow such people to share their horrid thoughts with the stroke of their fingertips. The most wretched, downright wrong words can be shared through an unfathomable number of mediums, where there is often no filter. By its inherent nature, the internet is a place lacking restraint. Faceless people behind screens have power. While we have undoubtedly seen the good that such power has shown, as was the case with women in Saudi Arabia tweeting of their nation's injustices, we have also come to recognize the bad. Both the strengths and ills of society are showcased on the world stage. Through Youtube, Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter the collective world is represented in an unbridled way. We see hate speech, videos ridiculing religion, platforms to objectify and degrade genders and races. The internet can be a sick place.

It is because of the internet's platform for 'hate' speech that countries have taken internet censorship into their own hands. I'm not talking about nations like China who ban sites so as to thwart the sharing of anti-government / human rights sentiments. I'm not talking about the dictatorial regime of Syria who has essentially prohibited their nation from any form of internet connectivity to the outside world. I'm referencing nations like Germany, one that is very much pro-civil liberties and human rights, who in October blocked content of a Neo-Nazi group through Twitter. They saw that their nation, one whose history is plagued by the horrific ideologies of Adolf Hitler, was being reintroduced to ideas meant to incite anger and outrage within society; therefore, they quelled those who spoke out against their beliefs concerning basic human decency. They restricted the online realm.

While I understand and appreciate the actions of nations like Germany, I must nevertheless disagree. What good will hindering expression do? Doesn't showing disdain towards the 'bad' give them a sense of legitimacy?

I say let the hate speech flow! Let these people sing of their sexism and racism. Let ignorance reign free, for it is only then that people will recognize that such thought still exists. It is only when people are faced with such ridiculous injustices that they recognize and truly form their own opinions and perspectives about the world. It strengthens the resolves of those who are 'good'. The African American lobbying for rights would never have occurred were it not for Roger B. Taney and Orval Faubus disgusting opinions, sparking the flame of rebellion in John Brown, Frederick Douglas, WEB Dubois and Martin Luther King Jr. People must challenge our opinions in order for us to recognize and solidify our own beliefs. 

Of course, one day I want to go on social media without being drowned by appalled statuses calling for the end to ignorance and crying for a shred of human decency. It would be amazing if we all held hands and sang about unity and rainbows and butterflies. However, for the time being, freedom of expression is an advantage. Human expression is healthy. We can only escape the loop of injustice and ignorance if we open the world up to an international dialogue, and such debate and passion can't be stirred up if we don't allow the "sick and twisted" people the opportunity to be challenged.

Internet response to the Boston Bombing
*warning, some graphic language