Hey y’all. Nick here, your friendly neighborhood bisexual Satanist back at ya with another tenet to discuss. You want to talk about the Fourth Tenet? You know, the one about the freedom to offend? Now that’s a real head-scratcher for folks, even for some folks who call themselves “Satanists”. But let me tell you, it’s a real important one. It’s about how we all need to be able to express ourselves, even if it makes someone else uncomfortable. ow, while I align with TST, I am an independent Satanist. I just feel really tied to their tenets and have added them as part of my practice.
None of us enjoy being told what to think, how to live, or what to do. In fact, the American Constitution grants us certain inalienable rights, as humans. Certain groups would have us believe that they have the right to tell us what to think, believe, love, and do, all while not allowing anyone to tell them those very same things. Each of us has the right to live how we so choose and each of us should grant others that same accord. Join me today as we discuss the fourth Tenet of the TST (The Satanic Temple) in an article I like to call The Price of Silence: Why We Must Defend the Right to Offend..
All about rights
“The freedoms of others should be respected, including the freedom to offend. To willfully and unjustly encroach upon the freedoms of another is to forgo one’s own.”
This is one of the Seven Tenets of The Satanic Temple that seem to cause the most confusion with new members and outsiders also. People look at the wording and get hung up. Many times you hear, “how do you have the right to offend people when you claim to be open to ideas and fighting for plurality.”
You see, growing up in Bristol, Virginia, was…well, it was about as far from tolerant as you can get. My mama was Pentecostal, fire and brimstone all the way, and my daddy, well, he was Methodist but left church when I was little. They wouldn’t have understood me being bisexual, let alone a Satanist. But that’s the thing, right? They didn’t have to understand. They just had to respect that I was living my truth.
Now, you know, I don’t believe in the Devil, not in the traditional sense. But I do believe in the power of individuality and the right to live your life your way. That’s what I love about The Satanic Temple. It’s about being free, about embracing your own unique self, even if it makes folks squirm.
And that brings us to the Fourth Tenet. It’s all about that freedom, that freedom to say what you think, to express yourself, even if it means offending someone. That doesn’t mean we should go around being jerks, mind you. It just means that we should respect everyone’s right to express themselves, even if we disagree.
Let me give you an example. Back in Bristol, I knew this guy, let’s call him “Billy Bob,” who was a real firebrand. He’d rant and rave about this and that, and he never held back, even when it came to things people found offensive. Now, I didn’t always agree with him, but I respected his right to say what he believed, even if it meant using language that made some people uncomfortable.
Now, you might be thinking, “Nick, you’re a Satanist, you’re supposed to be a bad boy. Why are you talking about respecting people’s right to offend?” Well, that’s the thing. It’s not about being a bad boy. It’s about understanding the true nature of freedom. It’s about respecting everyone’s right to live their truth, even if it means being a little bit controversial.
To offend or not offend
Now, let’s talk about how this Tenet can be hard to understand. The word “offend” is a loaded one, isn’t it? It conjures up images of hate speech, bigotry, and all sorts of nasty stuff. But that’s not what the Tenet is about. It’s about freedom, about the right to express yourself without fear of censorship or persecution.
Think about it like this. If we start telling people what they can and cannot say, where does it end? It’s a slippery slope, and before you know it, we’re living in a world where freedom of speech is just a distant memory.
Now, I’m not saying that we should go around offending people for the sake of offending them. That’s not what this is about. It’s about recognizing the power of free speech, even when it’s uncomfortable, even when it makes us think twice.
You see, the world is a messy place, and sometimes, the most important conversations are the ones that make us uncomfortable. We can’t always sugarcoat things, and sometimes, we have to say things that are hard to hear. That’s part of being human, part of living in a world where everyone has a right to their own opinion.
So, when it comes to the Fourth Tenet, it’s about recognizing the value of free speech, even when it’s a bit…well, spicy. It’s about understanding that freedom is a two-way street, and that everyone deserves the right to express themselves, even if it means challenging the status quo.
Free speech vs freedom to offend
So, how do you explain it so people understand it in the spirit of which it is meant?
First, I would tell you to not take the wording literally, not exactly. Before you get all twisted and say that I am giving you my opinion, I will say that the people who created these tenets have spoken on the meaning of this tenet on multiple occasions. Lucian Greaves has written specifically that the Temple’s dedication to free speech has always been tied to this tenet and as such should be protected. It is very similar to the same wording that our First Amendment has, with the slight modification of “offend” with “speech.”
You are probably sitting there thinking that the First Amendment says that hate speech isn’t allowed, but you would be slightly wrong there. The United States government has never sat down and defined hate speech, specifically. There are guidelines in place that make the freedom of speech a bit more specific in relation to inciting violence, overthrowing the government, and a couple other instances, but it has never said that people are not allowed to share their opinions or views. The flip of this is that the First Amendment also protects you when you disagree with them and speak out against it. The Freedom of Speech act doesn’t mean your words cannot go unchallenged or mocked.
Here is a secret, that is the same thing that is being said here, in the Fourth Tenet. It simply states that everyone has the right to say what they feel and it should be protected. However, you also have the same right. To speak out against those thoughts. It is important to remember this and honor that right. And remember, if you deny someone else their right to speak or offend, then you are also affecting your own rights, by proxy.
The dangers of censorship
When it comes to deciding what is offensive and isn’t, we should be cautious as to who we give the power to make those decisions. It seems easy to say that the government would take our best interests into consideration, in this topic. Let us remember that our government doesn’t operate on what is or is not in the best interests of its people, instead, decisions are made based on who can lubricate the system the most. Certain types of speech can be extremely volatile but that doesn’t mean they need to be silenced. They create the opportunity for us to educate and grow beyond those mentalities. Hearing someone else’s point of view allows us to challenge our own and how we perceive the world around it. It is a system of checks and balances and should be treated as such. If we start allowing people to limit what they consider offensive because of racist remarks, hatred, or whatever, who is to say that the next people in position so power wont alter what is offensive to suit their needs and suddenly more things are added to an offensive list and your own freedoms are taken away. We must question just as much as we allow free thought.
How do you feel about this tenet? Does it seem contradictory to you? Do you agree that all forms of speech should be allowed or that there is a need to cull specific types of speech? If you feel the later, how would you ensure that those boundaries only apply to things that are toxic and bad for ALL people? Let me know in the comments below. Remember, think for yourself and think critically. That is one of the few things the government cannot mandate… YET!
Gay in the CLE 