To Block or Not to Block: That Is The Question

Anonymous
To Block or Not to Block: That Is The Question

In a land where we believe in freedom of speech, should individuals be "allowed" to block other people from exercising their right to say what they want to say? I mean if you ask a question or state an opinion in the context of a public forum like social media, is there not an expectation or an assumption from those that chime in, that you DO in fact want to hear what they want to say? Why is it that after you've said your peace, one can choose to block you?

Whether you are online or off, just because someone says something, whether "right" or "wrong," doesn't mean you have to listen. It never has, and it never will.

To Block or Not to Block: That Is The Question

Along with freedom of speech, people also have the right NOT to listen to you and make up their own minds what they want to hear. In real life, if you disagree with someone, you CAN walk away and the same exists in the realm of the internet, where if you don't like something that's said, in this case, you can block it.

....ah, but I already hear you shaking your first and screaming about people who block you just because...and I would agree with you, absolutely! There are people who do not understand how civil conversations, facts, truth, and reality work, and/or they are petty and just stop conversations because they just need to have the last word, but THIS is the world we live in. The internet is just a much more intense version of it. Do you not know petty people in real life that hang up on you or block your number when you start speaking the truth to them, or speak behind your back, or refuse to accept factual information because they just want to be right? How is the internet world any different?

To Block or Not to Block: That Is The Question

We as adults want to believe that we can have an intelligent conversation online or off with those around us who also want the same. Even if we disagree with one another, we want to still be able to argue and discuss and share opinions because that is what freedom of speech (PAUSE)..."should" be about, but if you are holding on tightly to this notion of how things ought to be with a vice grip, I guarantee you will be nothing but continuously disappointed with the world around you. There should be no expectation of how people should act. Why would we need laws on books and people that have to actively enforce them if everyone just behaved a certain way?

There are real reasons to block people that aren't just petty like harassment, or trolling, or say someone making sexual comments to a minor, BUT alongside with that, we shouldn't say you have to listen to someone just because they said something. Too many people take it personally that someone blocks them because they're hurt by it, they are annoyed by it, they know that nothing they said was offensive or hurtful, but not everything you or I or anyone else says is right, or coherent, or truthful and even if it is, if someone doesn't get that and doesn't want to listen, they really aren't worth your time and efforts.

To Block or Not to Block: That Is The Question

Talk to people who "get it." People you can actually debate with or who don't freak out because you said something they disagree with. THIS is the reality of life on or offline. You can't win every conversation, you can't get everyone to like you or understand your point of view, and YES, absolutely yes, some people are too immature or petty to handle having any kind of discourse, but so what. Blocking or not blocking won't change these people, believe you me. They are who they are and so are you, so let them block because what you'll be left with is everyone else whom you can actually talk to, and isn't that what you really want anyway?

To Block or Not to Block: That Is The Question
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