I was reading a story about a bit torrent site concerning some data that some people did not want made public. I won’t mention the site since it would defeat the purpose of this post because I don’t want the data seen either. I see things like this all the time and not just online. some group decides that a website has content that may not be suitable for, well, anyone. So they make a big deal and get lots of publicity. Guess what happens then? The website blows up since the word is out. By complaining about content these groups draw attention to the very thing they don’t want anyone else to see. Some obscure site that 500 people may stumble across turns viral and 100,000 people see it. The same thing happens with CD’s (these things are what music used to be played on). Some group decides that society cannot survive the release of a violent or sex laden music CD so they boycott Walmart and make a bunch of noise. All this does is create interest in the very thing they wish to oppose. When I was in school I remember a couple of rap albums that got all kinds of criticism for their content. Ice Tea & The 2 Live Crew was constantly in the news. I actually bought the Ice Tea cassette (square thing with rolled up film like tape that played music). I probably never would have known who Ice Tea was if not for the helpful protesters. So if you want something to be silenced then keep your own mouth closed.
I believe in the First Amendment whole heartedly. I know that in order for my speech to be free I have to give that right to others. Popular speech does not need protecting. Unpopular speech does. I can choose to not listen to things I don’t like or stay away from people who say things that I find awful.
