Censorship is the worst of human inventions. Many could argue it was the atom bomb, others can argue that it was concentration camps, still others can say that it was automatic weapons. I feel that silencing someone and erasing their memory is the worse than merely killing them. In the movie V for Vendetta, there is a very powerful line. It is "Idea's are bulletproof." You can't shoot an idea, nor can you truly kill it with corporal means. The only way to stop an idea is to censor it. Removing something from circulation does more than just a disservice to those who have been killed for their beliefs but it effectively kills them a second time. Censoring history victimizes those who suffered a second time. It invalidates them. There is also the second and equally terrifying byproduct summed up in the saying "Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it." Forgetting that bad things happens and not learning from them can make eerily similar situations.
"But criticism can hurt Ideas as well! You can't judge ideology because that is harmful! It leads to *insert buzzword, usually involving misogyny/racism or phobia*" is a rallying cry for those who support censorship. No matter what, Ideas aren't hurt by being examined. If they are criticized, picked apart, and studied they only get stronger (unless criticism is either ignored, or the idea was so weak that it couldn't stand up on its own.) Ideas that fall apart under scrutiny usually involve advocating violence, hatred or intolerance. Scrutiny takes all sorts of forms, from internal dialogue to outside hyperbole and satire. The only way to prevent a bad idea from becoming worse is to talk about it and review it.
Looking at mistakes, misinformation and straight out lies is not harmful. Preventing someone from doing so is. Criticism is not equal to Censorship. Satire and Hyperbole is not the same as hate speech. Criticizing a poorly researched theory, and pointing out false representation of a media is not misogyny. Accepting censorship like in the book 1984 (which the Signet Classic version has censored {the book about censorship is censored}) is troubling beyond imagination. Thinking is one of the most powerful tools, and censorship puts chains on thought.
"Ideas do not have a face. You cannot intimidate an idea. They don't feel, they don't bleed, they don't die. Indeed, an incontrovertible idea is a most formidable concept. Malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end, there it is."
The best part is, everything I have just written can be examined, researched, criticized, hated, and smeared, and that it will be stronger for it is beautiful.
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