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Freedom of speech also means the freedom to be ignored
Full disclosure, I have previously worked as a marketing and comms officer, and had extensive sales training, so this is as much about how you sell an idea as it is critiquing free speech. When we talk about freedom of speech as an abstract concept we can all agree that each of us has the right to speak freely in a democratic society. Yet, as we all exist within a democratic society our speech is always put out into the round, never a pure vacuum. As such, what you say, how you say it, and who you say it to impact those around you, and thus while you are free to say it you are never free from the consequences of your speech. Indeed, in a democratic society one of the fundamentals of any conversation is that the person on the opposite side hearing you is completely free to ignore what you are saying. Their freedom of speech is essentially to say nothing, to state nothing, to leave you hanging. It is a vital tool in the forum of ideas, because sometimes replying either escalates or dignifies speech that is better off ignored.
We all want to be heard. Heck, social media as a thing exists purely because we want our lives to be seen. Why else do we spend so much time and energy on it, engaging with the things we want and ignoring the rest. Others see our words, photos, videos, and memes, interacting as they will, though more often simply ignoring what we…
