Meerkat Prompts: The Right to Speak
Earlier in the year, I received two very blunt comments to a couple of my posts. I consider these comments to be the precise opposite of how to motivate or convince someone to do something differently, and they serve as great examples of how not to be persuasive.
One such comment was left on a post that wasn’t even relevant to this person’s rant, and I quote it below:
Hello, this is in regards to calling our former president a “titanic failure”. Shit like that has really fucking ruined my experience in the furry fandom. You’re a “titanic failure” in my book, you fucking libtarded furfag. Also, fuck you for thinking you have a voice in my country’s politics, Eurofag. Keir Starmer is a fucking asshole. See how that fucking feels? Yiff in hell.
To see the context of it, please see here.
So, what was that all about? Well, this individual, who shall remain nameless, took issue with me commenting on US politics and society. He was clearly upset enough with this that he decided to leave that rather aggressive comment on a completely unrelated post. I have no idea what they expected to accomplish with this, though they would go on to leave a reply to me on Blu Sky, expressing their dissatisfaction in a calmer manner, albeit still not with an argument I agree with.
They referenced their autism as a reason for getting passionate and upset by me as a Briton writing about US politics. OK, I get it, I have family members on the spectrum, so believe me, I really do get it. However, as I impressed upon them at the time, I have every right to self-expression on my blog, and I do not force anyone to read it. If I wish to discuss the politics of the USA, Spain, Australia, Japan, or indeed anywhere on earth, I will. I have every right to an opinion, to a voice as it were.
The bottom line is, I do not need to justify why I write of global politics. I have freedom of speech, and I will exercise it in whatever manner I wish. If anyone has a problem with this, feel free to express it, but don’t expect me to change my approach.
In the course of this individual’s objections, another party vented their own problems with my discussing US politics. Their simplistic argument was that if I am not American, I should speak of US matters. It mattered not that this particularly party is also not American, but then, this party has a long-standing policy of hypocrisy. They went on to reference how they have friends and family in the USA, granting them the right so speak of US situations, but never assumed to extend that theory to me.
A lot of this can be spun down to the right to speak. Freedom of expression matters. People from overseas can and do comment on UK politics all the time, and I would never dream of kicking up a fuss about it. In this day and age, the policies and choices of one country can and do have an impact on other countries, but even if they don’t, how does this affect my right to an opinion? If you don’t like my opinion, do not read my blog. It really is that easy.
Update, 7/11/24: Following a brief ‘discussion‘ on the site of Barabbas, this particular post became quite relevant. Barabbas told me to ‘stay in my lane’, but it is not without irony that they have written a post – in my view rather a ignorant one at that – on UK politics. They are not the first to assert to tell me I should not write or speak of American politics, but I wonder if they can see the irony and hypocrisy in taking such a stand, when they are prepared to write of UK politics.
Sheesh, Ben! That person isn’t just autistic, he’s lost his bloomin’ mind! He should have been banned for even using such language … he certainly could have made his point without all the f-bombs!
Frankly, I welcome the views of readers from other countries, for I’ve long said that they often see our situation with more clarity than we do, for we are too close to step back and see the ‘big picture’. In fact, just yesterday I did a post reblogging the views of two of my friends from the UK regarding our upcoming election and the potential death of our democracy, and I think everyone agreed they were both very wise.
Keep on doing what you do, my friend! Your voice has much value.
Hiya Jill!
I cut this person some slack on account of their autism, because I can understand how it differs from person to person, and how it can mess with a person’s social skills. It gets worse when online too, since there’s no body language or tone of voice clues. Nonetheless, I do wonder if they use their autism as a bit of an excuse. I am aware of them on Twitter (or at least, I was before I came off Twitter), though I didn’t want to poke the bear, so to speak. Some of what they had to say did make me wonder whether or not I should have let their comments through in the first place.
Like you, I welcome an outside perspective. We can get somewhat blinkered about our own countries, even regarding the bad stuff. I certainly know I can, so it’s important to try and keep an open mind. Unfortunately, as we both know, some people lack open minds.