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

[andrewducker]

I'd rather they said it, so they we can then talk about it.

Silencing the ignorant is not, in my opinion, the route to utopia.

[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"

[despina.livejournal.com]

The actual phrase "I'm entitled to my opinion", always sets my teeth on edge because it closes down the discussion and is IN MY EXPERIENCE often a way of saying "I don't want to question my beliefs".

But I wouldn't discourage people from saying it.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

But I wouldn't discourage people from saying it. - would like to hear more about this, if you would?

[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.

[wildeabandon.livejournal.com]

I'm quite fond of the phrase "You're perfectly entitled to be wrong."

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

You have a right to be wrong!

[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!

[simple-epiphany.livejournal.com]

Even though it is true, I don't think it should be encouraged, because it is so often understood as saying more than it actually does.

Specifically, even if you are entitled to an opinion, you are neither entitled to have that opinion taken seriously, nor to express it on someone else's time/money/space. While the phrase itself isn't actually false, it encourages woolly thinking on this subject.

[bohemiancoast.livejournal.com]

I thought the phrase was "you're entitled to your opinion" -- meaning "you are a first-rate arse who is talking bollocks"...

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Exactly - I chose the wording of the poll question quite carefully.

Though actually I'm not sure it really means anything very precise; I can think of several different interpretations of what it might be supposed to mean, and that alone is reason enough to discourage people from saying it.

[valkyriekaren.livejournal.com]

There are no stupid answers, only stupid people.

What I mean by this is that no answer (or opinion) is ever 'stupid' or 'wrong' provided it can be explained or justified. (Obviously I take as axiomatic that justifying opinions is useful and meaningful, and I think I'd find it troublesome to have a conversation with anyone who didn't.)

So a far as that goes, yes, people are entitled to their opinions, and I'm entitled to think their opinions are wrong or stupid if they can't or won't explain them.

I do think that the phrase, "Well, I'm/you're entitled to my opinion" is mostly used in two ways. Firstly, it's often used belligerently by someone who can't or won't justify themselves, but wants to be heard all the same. Secondly, it's often used in a conciliatory way, when an argument has become unproductive or threatens to become violent or abusive - it's the debating equivalent of, "Leave it, Wayne, he's not worth it!"

At least in the second instance, I can see its value - sometimes it's more important, at least in the short term, to keep the peace than to be right.

[simont]

For that, I've always liked "That's a matter of opinion, and I don't give a fuck about yours."

[ditzy-pole.livejournal.com]

I'm on the border with this one.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but for me it's the equivalent of saying just because when having a debate or a way to hide rudeness when they are critising your views with no other backup.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Everyone is entitled to their opinion - can you say a little more about what you mean when you say that? As the second article asks, what duty does this entitlement impose on others?

[djm4]

It's almost a null statement to me. Trivially true, but with no broader implications.

[djm4]

...or possibly trivially false, depending on what they mean by it, and from whence they think the entitlement came. ;-)

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

Yes, it isn't nearly precise enough for me to assign a truth-value to!

[hughe.livejournal.com]

I think everyone has a right to hold an express an opinion and, if that is what "I am entitled to my opinion" means, I wouldn't discourage them from saything that.

I also think that everyone should be able to back their opinions up with reasoning (preferably non-flawed reasoning) but even if they don't they are still entitled to their opinion, they just don't know why they hold that opinion.

I'd like to encourage people to explain their reasoning, but I also think that they don't have to.

It is everyone else that should be educated to not consider anyone elses opinion unless it can be backed up with reasoning.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

As the second article linked above asks, if there is a right to hold and express an opinion, what duty does that right impose on others?

[hughe.livejournal.com]

by that definition... I think it is the duty of others to allow them to hold and express their opinion, however wrong you may think it may be.

i dont think it is the duty of other people to beleive it, or to not express their own conflicting opinion. I certainly don't think it is other people's duty or responsibility to change the opinions. It may be in their interest to, however.

But I suppose what they are getting at is: If I have an entitlement to the opinion, do I also have pretection over people trying to change it. If you have reasoning behind it then you can compare reasoning and it isn't an issue. Opinions can and should be fluid based on evidence, like scientific theory.

*shrug*

[wildeabandon.livejournal.com]

But what does "allow them to express it" mean? It's not as though any of us have the power to stop people expressing their opinions.

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

I'm still having trouble working out what you mean by "I am entitled to my opinion". By "allow", do you mean "not punch them"? If not just that, then what?