Paul CantrellYou know what’s really underrated?
Social opprobrium.
🧵
Like, these Young Republicans in their Telegram chat spouting just the must vile stuff imaginable? They should feel ashamed and embarrassed. The people around them should •make• them feel ashamed and embarrassed about it.
They’re not putting forward some thoughtful but controversial theory of whatever. They’re not saying things that Deserve Respect Even If We Disagree. This isn’t that kind of communication. They’re fantasizing about enslavement and gas chambers. There’s nothing for society to gain here from an Honest and Open Exchange of Views Followed by Thoughtful Reflection.
There is, however, a lot for society to gain from the people who want subjugation and slavery and murder knowing that they will be pariahs if they let those thoughts out of their mouth. There’s a lot to gain from everyone around them seeing them greeted with revulsion and shunned.
That, too, is part of free speech. It is the •foundation• of free speech.
The First Amendment in the US says — wisely — that we should avoid giving the government the power to determine with the force of law what beliefs are unacceptable. That is •not• because all beliefs are acceptable, however; it is because giving the government such power opens the floodgates of authoritarianism.
Here’s the thing: some beliefs •are• unacceptable. We deny the government the power to determine which ones with the understanding that we •must• do that job ourselves, through social negotiation.
Social opprobrium is not antithetical to free speech. It is a •pillar• of free speech. It is the premise upon which the First Amendment is built.
And what happens when we fail to do our job, fail to treat with revulsion speech that deserves revulsion? What happens when we give racists and slavers and genocidal zealots room, whether out of some misguided sense of respect, or laziness, or fear?
You know the answer to this question.
The alternative to a society with shaming and shunning is a society filled with violence: the violence of racists and slavers and genocidal zealots; the violence of prying those people from power as they inevitably close off democracy’s nonviolent means of removing them.
I do not like violence. I do not want violence.
I much prefer harsh words.
The tragedy of a vile person like Charlie Kirk is that we’ve even heard of him, that a person like that managed to hold so many microphones for so long.
He shouldn’t have been shot. He should have been cut off by everyone in every space where he tried to hold the microphone, shamed into living isolated and miserable in his mom’s basement where nobody would ever feel the need to shoot him.
There was a time in the not-so-distant past when we could have avoided incredible harm to incredible numbers of people here in the US simply by giving the absolute stink eye to people spouting deranged fascist crap, by saying “ugh, wtf, get out of here” instead of finding ways to describe fascism politely enough to give it equal time in the news.
I don’t know what’s coming. I hope for the best; I fear the worst. But shunning and shaming sound so, so, so much better than even the best-case scenarios that follow from here.
You know what’s underrated?
Social opprobrium.
Alison Wilder
cognitively accessible math@inthehands I was going to reply that opprobrium is relievable with milk of magnesium
BUT WE NEED TO NOT RELIEVE IT.
Okay, I don't want to go back to the day when a VP candidate who **had seen a counselor for mental health issues** was met with it, but ...
we need more stinkeye.
BUT WE NEED TO NOT RELIEVE IT.
Okay, I don't want to go back to the day when a VP candidate who **had seen a counselor for mental health issues** was met with it, but ...
we need more stinkeye.
Annie@inthehands
While our government must not abridge free speech, our elected leaders *must* exercise social opprobrium.
https://vtdigger.org/2025/10/14/vermont-governor-calls-for-orleans-county-senators-resignation-over-leaked-racist-bigoted-and-antisemitic-group-chat/
While our government must not abridge free speech, our elected leaders *must* exercise social opprobrium.
https://vtdigger.org/2025/10/14/vermont-governor-calls-for-orleans-county-senators-resignation-over-leaked-racist-bigoted-and-antisemitic-group-chat/
Galbinus Caeli@inthehands kick the Nazis out of the bar or become a Nazi bar.
"Nazi Punks Fuck Off" is the polite response when they show up.
Hasani Hunter@inthehands I’m not convinced that Kirk was shot for his beliefs or his speech. From the behavior of his wife and the Trump rally at his memorial, his death is being used as a cover for suppressing speech of their political enemies.
@hasani
Oh, indeed, as best we can tell, he was shot for Nick Fuentes’s beliefs.
And I do think it’s likely that the shooter really was what he appeared to be: a fellow right-wing fuckup. I’m slow to think there’s any sort of MAGA conspiracy behind it: partly because they’re not competent enough, and partly because their MO doesn’t •need• a conspiracy. The Trump Way is to sow chaos with no plan whatsoever, then be the craven opportunist who can best seize the advantage of the chaos whenever it arrives.
And •that• is mostly certainly what they were doing at his funeral.
Thee Mighty Peculia 🍄
Simon@inthehands IMO The US's particular culture around this goes further than the first amendment: freedom comes before other values, which is both a decisive advantage and a crucial weakness. I would argue that something like tall poppy syndrome has a socially protective aspect for example, and that is almost completely absent in the US.
The Corodon@inthehands
I would just add that if they're openly racist in private, their exchange of views in public is neither honest nor open. And if we don't tell them they are disgusting, we aren't being honest or open with them.
I would just add that if they're openly racist in private, their exchange of views in public is neither honest nor open. And if we don't tell them they are disgusting, we aren't being honest or open with them.
Misuse Case@inthehands At best they are talking like dweebs who peaked in middle school.
@MisuseCase
That’s far, far kinder than anything I could think of.
That’s far, far kinder than anything I could think of.