Chapter 23 (Aronade: age 16 — The Speech)
People waited with baited breath to find out who the new leader would be. I, however, wasn’t surprised. He had bought the position with their lusts. His words are unnerving. He is supposed to represent all of the people. But he takes on a condemning tone when referring to those he doesn’t like. He now has favored status given to him by the world. They all want his favor. They want to bask in his power … they are consumed by it. Whoever agrees with him he likes and is, therefore, considered good. The rest are evil. He seems to enjoy trying to incite people to violence. They picked him to be favored because they wanted the rest to be considered evil. There is a thinly veiled threat in his words. “Now I’m really going to get you!” That’s the threat he is making beneath the rhetoric. True, he was going to get us all along anyway … but now? Now we’ve openly defied him, so now he’s REALLY going to get us! He will make us pay — it is only a matter of time. So, the question is what our punishment will be. Clearly, no one censors this man … but what about his critics, where are they? Surely someone must disagree with his comments.
To my way of thinking, God is King. But now we have a ruler who wants to rule in place of God.
“I guess we’ll see if you’re a more righteous dictator than your forebears were.” I mutter sarcastically.
No matter the system within the world, charismatic people will eventually take it over. There just seems to be people with a controlling type of personality who are skilled at manipulating others and who take over groups. Even if these people have lost all of their worldly assets, they have that ability to dominate others. Some people they seduce; others are just so intimidated by the influence they have over other people that they just let the charismatic persona have their way. It seems just too dangerous to have these people working against you.
Charismatic psychopaths don’t let corrupt systems deter them either. They have the confidence to think they will rise to the top of any system. People in charge of the system, charismatic psychopaths with more power, will utilize these people as enforcers. They will give them more power and affluence than the others. They will be the last to be taken out. It is better for the leadership not to make an enemy of the charismatic psychopaths — while those charismatic psychopaths still have followers that they can draw upon and manipulate. Better to take out their power base before you take them down.
Meanwhile, the charismatic psychopaths without real power are more than happy to use other people and suppress those people’s efforts to save themselves.
They want freedom to sin, but there is still one sin they don’t have to the level they want. To some extent, murder is already legal, but the wholesale slaughter of those you no longer want to exist remains somewhat of a taboo. There is a stigma attached to it and a chance for retaliation. What is to be done then? They seek a leader who will carry out their growing bloodlust. He will kill for them. And they feel they will be safe from his wrath in their group — their collective. And they think using him as a tool for their dark desires will allow them to act without the fear of being held individually responsible. For they still believe in their plausible deniability. Alas, they who seek out such a leader — a murderer — are responsible for his deeds, for he is merely their creature — an instrument of their will manifested.
The people who want to control free speech by labeling it as hate speech gain the ability to define what hate speech is once they get into power. Inevitably, their hate-filled speech, rhetoric, and threats as well as the speech of their supporters is deemed acceptable. While all the speech of those who they hate and who are critical of their policies is deemed “hate speech” and is consider to be justifiably punishable by the government.
Free speech appears to be one of the first things attacked by tyrants. And it’s not just speech that someone can find offensive that’s suppressed — since quite frankly anything a person says can offend someone. No, it is criticism — implied or direct — of the ideology and/ or behavior of those in power that is specifically targeted — under penalty of law no less. If it’s one thing control freaks can’t stand it is being criticized or challenged.
Anyway, the interview with the new leader gets me to thinking and inspires me as to what to write for my speech class. I figure I have the right to speak as much as they do.
“I am in no wise in favor of hate speech. I wish people would choose not to do it. Certainly, Hitler’s hate-filled propaganda contributed to an environment that led to unfathomable atrocities against the Jewish people. And yet, it is making the speech illegal that proves to be problematic. I approve of the old standard — the ‘inciting of violence in the present’ standard. It seemed pretty well-defined. It allowed for a certain amount of verification that it actually occurred since the implication was that the inciting was done in front of a group. The problem with other speech being designated as legally punishable is threefold. First, it isn’t well-defined. Who decides what is hate speech? Two, what standard of evidence needs to be presented to prove that the speech actually occurred in the first place? The third issue is how is the law enforced? The irony is that those most likely to be arrested for hate speech are the ones who are already being persecuted by those who have the power to enforce these laws. It’s happened before where the victims of a crime were arrested and had to pay damages for the crime committed against them! As I’ve said, it may not even be necessary for the speech to have occurred. Merely the accusation from individuals in power will be enough to prosecute those whose personal power has been taken away. What’s to stop a regime from using such laws as a weapon of persecution? They define what’s illegal, they set the standard for proof, they choose who to punish and who to allow to say whatever they please. After all, a human’s capacity to justify their own behavior seems rather boundless. How hard would it be for a group of people to decide that a double standard is fair in a given case since the individuals in question are deemed worthy of being hated?
In conclusion, as I’ve said, I am not in favor of hate speech. I hate bullying, harassment, oppression, and abuse. I hate intimidation and acts of cruelty and violence. I simply see how allowing the government to have the ability to use its power to punish people for their speech could lead to an abuse of power. It would be far too easy for the government to use it to capriciously censor its critics and to use it to persecute groups of people who those in power actually do hate.”
I was conditioned a long time ago to be afraid to express my honest opinion, so this was a big moment for me. I’ve been made sick all my life trying to be “normal” but being incapable of it.
But as I finish my speech, there is total silence. Everyone just stares a hole through me — everyone that is but Kurt, who is smirking at me … his eyes laughing. Nobody needs to tell me it didn’t go over well.
“Well, do we have to clap, or can we boo her?” Kurt suddenly laughs out loud.
Then, the whole class starts laughing.
“I don’t see what the big deal is anyway.” Kurt continues, probably emboldened by the laughter. “They are just words. You tell the masses what they want to hear until you gain power. Then you can do whatever you want.”
Nobody takes offence over what Kurt just said.
I remain silent. I don’t feel like being held accountable anymore for my thoughts.
“That will do, Liesel. You may sit down now.” the teacher interjects.
I am suddenly glad that the people around here don’t use my real name.
I guess I am a hater now … I hate the world-system. And it’s only okay to be a ‘hater’ if you direct your hatred towards something or someone the world says is worthy of it.
Copyright © Jennifer Alice Chandler 2020
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