General Does Everyone Deserve a Platform and a Voice? [Media / Politics]

[bbninjas]

I've always been fascinated by the controversial figures and the people I don't quite understand. I like to hear their perspectives, their unsung stories and their realities, I like to learn from them and I like to decide for myself. Now, obviously if that is to happen, those controversial people need to be given a voice and a platform. Profoundly, from my real life friends and social media threads, I realised that not everyone takes this view. xD So here's the question that's been on my mind:

Does everyone -- even the outrageous, controversial or so-called evil -- deserve a platform to speak their voice or voice their story? Is it ever okay to 'make human' the despicable and give a voice to the 'disagreable'?
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This can be a touchy topic, so intelligent discussion only. Be mindful about respect - everyone deserves if, even if your opinions differ.

 

[bbninjas]

This is the angle I'm coming from when I ask my questions above. Warning that I'm discussing Steve Bannon // Hitler // Osama bin Laden, so don't read if you don't want to.

Recently, the Australian national broadcast aired an interview with Steve Bannon, who was the Trump administration's Chief Strategist for some time and undoubtedly a tremendous political influence. The interview received massive backlash for purportedly giving a platform to a supremacist / racist / bigot, whose ideology seeks to divide. The controversy surprised me because I found the interview to be seriously important -- if Bannon wants to bring the populist brand to Australia (as he does), we needed to hear what he thinks and how he addresses criticism, so that the public can respond. For this to happen, Bannon necessarily had to be given that platform. But is that a problem?

I later listened to a podcast about the young life of Adolf Hitler. This comment stuck with me, because it's so true: It's disturbing to confront the reality of Hitler. He was banal, ordinary in many ways... Hitler was a classic rascal, but he loved his mother. He failed German at schoo, dropped out, and was comically awkward with girls. These little details about Hitler's life make him seem a little more 'real', 'human' or - dare say - 'like us'. It sounds unattractive for sure, but is it a problem?

We then have a Osama bin Laden. Interestingly, long before September 11, a Western journalist (Robert Fisk) had the opportunity to interview bin Laden on two separate occasions. Bin Laden was expecting questions about 'terror, terror, terror', but the journalist only wanted to know about who Bin Laden was as a human person. Bin Laden spoke of when he narrowly escaped death, when a mortar shell landed at his feet as a young man, but didn't explode. He felt a 'peace of mind' at that moment, ready to die. From that you can begin to understand -- and nearly empathise -- with this man. Is that a problem?

 

[DragonFang101]

To your main question...

Does everyone -- even the outrageous, controversial or so-called evil -- deserve a platform to speak their voice or voice their story? Is it ever okay to 'make human' the despicable and give a voice to the 'disagreable'?

Definitely yes. Any ideals you have will be considered controversial or outrageous to someone else if you speak to the right person. Therefore I do not believe "hate speech" exists unless you threaten someone with violence.

 

[Vom]

I believe everyone deserves to be heard. Even the 'bad' people. I'm a student nurse, and in the context of a hospital, we don't prioritize 'good' people over 'bad' people. They're just people. I think the same principle should apply in general. Why do we try to silence them? Because they're bad? Because we're so perfect ourselves?
However misguided, they're just people. We are just people.

I'm not saying we should ignore their actions, I'm just saying that we should hear them and try to understand them to see they are people too. They just need to be helped and shown a better way.