You are not entitled to your opinion

[ciphergoth]

• You Are Never Entitled to Your Opinion
  
• Sorry, but you are not entitled to your opinion
  
• Why You Are Not Entitled To Your Opinion

You are, I think, entitled to the right to hold and express any opinion without being shut down by the State for doing so; that is where the entitlement ends.

[Poll #1410915]
(edit: removed Harlan Ellison quote, which doesn't really express what I'm getting at here)

Comments

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

I'd rather people expressed their opinions, definitely, I'd just prefer they didn't retreat into "I'm entitled to my opinion" when challenged on them!

[wildeabandon.livejournal.com]

Yes. I think it's quite rare for people saying "I'm entitled to my opinion" to mean that they're entitled to hold and express it, rather than "I'm entitled to express my opinion without being told it's complete rubbish"

[simont]

*nods* This. Whatever anyone may think about the truth or falsehood in principle of the phrase as taken literally, it seems clear that the sense in which it's most commonly (and most annoyingly) used in practice is the one which says that almost any attempt to contradict the speaker constitutes an unconscionable act of victimisation, and in that sense it is clearly false!

[wight1984.livejournal.com]

This.

There's a big difference between 'freedom of belief' and 'freedom from criticism' and a lot of people who say 'I am entitled to my opinion' don't seem to recognise that difference.

[andrewducker]

I'd say that the best response is something along the lines of
"You are, and when you share it, I am entitled to share mine."
or
"You are entitled to it, but if you want it to be taken seriously then you have to be able to back it up."

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Right, and these responses seem to point in the same direction as what I'm saying: that one who says "I'm entitled to my opinion" has left the path of wisdom.