> Political opinions aren't somehow exempt from the judgement by others
I agree. Nothing and no one is exempt from judgement or criticism. This is exactly what some people seem to refuse to understand.
> Opinions, and speech, have power
Nonsense. People have power.
> Therefore, some speech is harmful
We are past the inquisition. Word's don't hurt, they don't kill, they don't destroy lives. People do that.
There is the argument that they can encourage you to do all these things, but does it really happen outside an "echo chamber"?
Throughout history this happened only when conflicting opinions weren't allowed.
In the free market of ideas the bad ideas will lose and the good ones will win. It is inevitable that the best "product" wins. These people know it, that is why they don't allow others to voice conflicting opinions. They will lose.
The only sane and healthy way to fight what you called "harmful speech" (i.e. the kind that encourages violence and/or discrimination) is through debate.
If we silence people and destroy their lives are we really better?
People have always felt threatened by world views different from their own, our history shows exactly that.
Being constrained by the communication medium is not an excuse, consuming "bad" content is not an excuse, nor is it the problem. In my opinion the problem is caused by pampering these people and giving in to their demands just to shut them up, like we do with children. In both cases the result is disastrous.
Are we going to sacrifice the teachings of the enlightenment at the alter of political correctness?
Are we going to remain silent just because reality is uncomfortable?
It is my belief that these people are a minority. They are just very loud.
I will probably be down-voted to hell for this, but here's my 2c.
This is the result of a PC culture. It has made it impossible to have an open and honest discussion about anything.
It is easier to just label someone a racist, sexist, or other "buzzwords", than to strengthen your argument.
Where are the times when we fought ideas, not people?
From my observation the kind of people doing things like this are the ones losing the intellectual argument.
If you KNOW someone is wrong, why not debate them? Why go after them personally?
I wrote this in a rush, I apologize for any mistakes or inconsistencies.
https://eli.thegreenplace.net/