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Richard Stallman's Political Notes

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The latest censorship proposal

jeudi 19 décembre 2013 à 13:00

The latest censorship proposal: ban saying that someone is fat.

Once you accept in principle the idea of forbidding some sort of insult, there is no natural stopping point; any statement that might hurt someone's feelings is likely to be banned.

I do not feel offended when people call me "fat", if they do not mean it as an insult, since it is undeniably true. If someone does mean it as an insult, that indicates a mental confusion on that person's part. Being fat is not an ethical failing.

It is amazing that Ms Lawrence is so sensitive to insults to her appearance — as if Einstein felt crushed if anyone said he was stupid. This bespeaks an inner insecurity that disregards objective reality. That insecurity is her real problem, not the insults.