In a recent interview about her book ‘Small Acts of Freedom’, the so called ‘free speech activist’ Gurmehar Kaur revealed that she doesn’t know the meaning of freedom of speech and expression. In the beginning of her interview she speaks about her memoir, which is about three generations of strong single women in her family.
Gurmehar claims that she has grown stronger and become more busy after she shot to fame. Right after that , when asked about definition of free speech, she reveals her ignorance about the cause she claims to be fighting for.
The conversation after 5:20 goes like this :
Nidhi: You are a strong proponent of free speech. You get trolled often, even now for blocking people on Twitter , for instance. The criticism is , by them, that you know, that doesn’t exactly hold you up as a champion of free speech. So how do you define free speech and freedom of expression? And what would you say to those who say that your blocking of their voices on Twitter is not representative of that.
Gurmehar: I mean, when I am blocking people on Twitter I am not putting a tape on their mouth. They can still whatever they want to say. I am just closing my own ears . I don’t want to listen to it . I feel that I have the freedom to not listen to what somebody else has to say.
Nidhi: So do you think you are handling Twitter better, that you have a thicker skin?
Gurmehar: Definitely. I don’t think I care at all at anymore. Just last year, somewhere around March, I would still get little flustered, little sad, I would still get these panic attacks every time I saw people trolling me. Now I read it and just roll my eyes. Sometime I don’t even read it, just random troll accounts. I couldn’t care less.
According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of free speech is the right to express any opinions without censorship or restraint. Even so called trolls have the right to express their views without being restrained. If the activist is doing something that goes against the basic meaning of free speech, how can she fight for the cause?
When Gurmehar says that she wants to close her ears, she definitely comes across as a typical hypocrite from the liberal gang. Freedom of speech and expression is not about closing your ears. Freedom to ignore views of others is not related to the definition of ‘freedom of speech’.
If she is really the strong and mature person that she claims to be, she wouldn’t have blocked those who are supposedly trolling her with their opinions/criticism. She doesn’t care about free speech anymore. All she cares about is her new book and all the orders it is going to get on Amazon.
If anyone is blocking their critics, they are no longer advocates of free speech. They are totally ignorant about the concept of free speech. In fact they are on their way to manufacture an echo chamber. RIP free speech.
