free speech

freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences.

Charlie Kirk once said that the First Amendment shouldn't apply to Satanists. he believed that leftists were dangerous to political discussion. he said empathy was for idiots, he was pro-life, and he purported that deaths were an "unfortunate" necessity for gun rights. Charlie Kirk was assassinated on September 10th, and someone asked me, "why are you smiling?"

i'm not happy that anyone dies. i don't wish death on anyone, or want anyone to die. but am i supposed to feel bad for him? i slightly feel bad for his wife, and i have genuine empathy for his kids.

freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences.

"So someone should shoot you for committing an ad hominem attack?" no. but if they did, am i supposed to be surprised? i wouldn't be. i'm also going to avoid ad hominem as much as possible. Charlie Kirk was a lot of things, and most of them were evident by his views. he believed Trans people should be stripped of the few rights we have. am i supposed to feel bad that he's dead?

i didn't want to see the video, but someone showed it to me. i didn't react at all. i shrugged my shoulders. i've seen enough gore on the Internet in my earlier years, seen enough horror and action movies, that it wasn't traumatizing to me. am i supposed to be moved by it?

i'm scared of what's coming next. people are going to entrench themselves further in their own beliefs. "an attack against one of us is an attack against all of us." but they've been playing offense this entire time. someone took a pre-emptive shot and ended the man's career. they removed him from the public discourse. i didn't celebrate, but i embraced the fact. one less person in the world to spread hateful rhetoric. he was de-platformed. he was cancelled.

freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences.

so, now what? someone could come and "cancel" me. i recognize that as a potential consequence for my propaganda and activism. i'm not immune to bullets. i'm a human being and i'm willing to be wrong. and if someone believes i'm so wrong that my life ought to be ended, and they pull the trigger on me, i would have lived and died by my principles. that's integrity.

the reality is my life is finite. regardless of how long or short it is, i want to know that my thoughts, words, and actions aligned. i'm a pacifist, but i'll defend myself. the violence of the oppressor being used to dismantle the oppressor doesn't make me as bad as them. it makes me an equalizer. i didn't take the shot at Charlie and i wouldn't have if i could. maybe i'd joke about it. someone had more gall, more preparation, more skill, more wherewithal. i'm not sad that it happened. i'm also not surprised.

freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences.

i don't put anyone on a pedestal. everyone is fallible. no gods, no masters, no heroes, no idols. i don't ever want to be so inspiring that people worship me the way they worshipped him. i'm a human being, not a deity. i'm willing to face the consequences of my actions, with accountability. and sometimes that means that people will attack me, verbally or otherwise. and should someone take a shot at me, those who disagreed with me on a political and spiritual level will likely enjoy or relish in the fact. they won't be sad it happened. they won't be surprised. they won't show me empathy or sympathy. they won't pray for me. they'll say, "good riddance."

live by your principles. mean what you say and say what you mean. make your bed and lie in it. wear the shoe and walk in it.

freedom of speech is not freedom from consequences.