Opinions. People are entitled to them and everyone has them. From political views to chocolate or vanilla, everyone takes a stance somewhere. Their opinions might be found in logic; it could be found in hate or it could be caused by jealousy. Anyone and everyone is entitled to share their opinion, no matter how hurtful and clearly wrong it could be. You can’t change most people’s opinion, it isn’t easy. What you can do is engage in a thoughtful discussion. Belittling someone and making them feel lesser does nothing.
At some point in your life you will find yourself talking to someone who sees life in a different light than you do. That should be expected, if you don’t associate with people outside of your echo chamber you will never progress. When the talk about your differing views comes up, think about why they feel that way, not why they’re wrong. There is a reason why everyone holds their opinions near and dear. The quicker you can understand the ground they come for, the sooner you can make progress. Though, if someone does present a blatantly wrong opinion, say, the Earth is flat, present all the factual information you can to them. Should they reject it, ignorance to the truth is their choice.
We have issues in society with free speech, especially hate speech. The opinions of neo-Nazis and racists are despicable. There is no other way to describe it and those viewpoints bring nothing of worth to our society and are deplorable. Just telling these people that they are wrong will solve absolutely nothing. Less than one percent of the population wants their words in this society and that is the way it should be. Just yelling “racist” at someone will never change their hateful view. It is just like yelling “wrong” at someone during a debate. You have to come down to their ground and understand where they come from.
Some people are so stuck in on their awful views that they will never change. Giving them an alternate way of thinking can, however, make even the smallest of impacts, and that is sometimes enough. Note that that is only sometimes, other people take far more than that to find their way out of ignorance. The most important thing is wanting to be less ignorant. But alas, some people are confined to their own way of thinking.
Every type of speech is protected in this country – it’s the beautiful and ugly double-edged sword. Some people say terrible things, and for now, this country allows it.
Tyler Corbit is a sophomore studying journalism with a focus in strategic communication at Ohio University. Please note that the views and opinions of the columnists do not reflect those of The Post. Do you think the First Amendment needs reconstructed? Let Tyler know by tweeting him @tylercorbit.
