Why I’ll never delete an article…
… even if my opinions might change or dare I say it that it turns out that I was completely wrong on a topic.
Let me start this with a bang.
We live in a time not only of increasing censorship but due to it one of increasing self-censorship. This can be seen on so many platforms where creators create synonyms for words that have become “unspeakable”, where people simply refuse to reply to questions about topics which are deemed to only have one correct answer OR if someone can’t speak about topics at all because their conclusions are different than what is expected.
That is basically the definition of self-censorship. Camebridge Dictionary states:
“Control of what you say or do in order to avoid annoying or offending others, but without being told officially that such control is necessary”
(source: https://dictionary.cambridge.org/de/worterbuch/englisch/self-censorship)
I really don’t want to use Buzzwords here, but in this context I can’t avoid to talk about cancel-culture, which its existence doesn’t just prove itself by literally forcing people out of public discussion but also has led to this form of self-restricting behaviour to either avoid the confrontation or at least to get away with it. But I’m willing to go as far as to point out that there is a similarity between people being forcefully silenced by what can just be considered as “the vocal, noisy public opinion” (which neither implies majority nor that they need to be right about it) AND the CCP’s, let’s say, more rigorous means of keeping people in line.
The consequences can be dire in western society as well. From people loosing their jobs because they identified as on the wrong side of the poll to companies having their means of expression taken away from them and basically forcing them out of existence up to literally facing physical violence. Actors have been cancelled, comedians, politicians… You could go on and on with people and groups that have fallen victim to this. AND here we come to the point of this little expression of an opinion:
If there’s anything in the past that doesn’t comply with today’s narrative it will be dug up. This is a form of “consequences” that are so far out of reach with compassion and believe in the human nature of change and redeemability that I can barely explain it. It simply means that there is no forgiveness for whatever it is one has ever said or done if it turns out to be “controversial” at any point in time.
This leads to another common sight on the social media landscape nowadays
The scraping of content
It takes active denying of observable reality to refuse to admit that this is happening and how deep it has infiltrated our conscious minds.
It has happened so often now that people backpedal on their opinions because they achieved a backlash of any kind by trying to literally erase the past.
But it doesn’t even stop there as recent examples that actually do come to mind where Youtube-Persona Ethan Klein hasn’t just deleted over 8.000 of his Tweets in December 2020 (https://socialblade.com/twitter/user/h3h3productions) in lights of a recent backlash but has also deleted two episodes of his Podcast with Jordan B. Peterson not even because he was under fire for it, but to appease to whomever it was he tried to please.
This sort of self-censorship I would define as one of the worst symptoms I could think off. It’s not just self-management in present times but it actually reaches back in the past, measuring it by today’s standards (which are already basically kind of unachievable if you ask me) and actively trying to change it or hide it — and I’m not sure which one is worse. We have arrived in times were you basically shouldn’t talk about your past anymore if it doesn’t coincide with what is deemed to be acceptable AND that actively encourages you to deface yourself by pretending you are now and have always been someone that you are not. In addition this demand is made to everyone.
For me this is the pinnacle of the outreach that our “modern era” of censorship has taken and it proves itself by being so clearly visible for everyone who is watching. It takes active denying of observable reality to refuse to admit that this is happening and how deep it has infiltrated our conscious minds.
I am who I am!
And that means having the guts to display what I’ve publicly stated even if this means at some point that I might be cancelled for it.
This is the basis which lead to my conclusion. Everything I am today is a summary of my lived experiences. The memories I have, the opinions I’ve had that stayed on AND those that have changed over time as well as my behaviours. The things I said, the things I’ve done, combined with each moment of present that I consciously flow through are heading towards a future Me that is hopefully continuing on the way to intentionally become a “better”, more insightful, perhaps at some point even wise human being.
I don’t just want people to see the current me, but I want those who are interested to see where I came from to see my past unapologetically. I want to reference to articles/statements where my point of view has changed and being completely honest about it. And this is not just for any potential reader that I will ever have. This is also to be true to myself.
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Anyways, thanks for making it this far, have a beautiful day, where ever you are.
