won't be fired or ostracized for it.

Wanna bet?

Of course you can. You're not free from consequences of what you said though. The internet remembers EVERYTHING. Especially on federated platforms like lemmy. Some of my first messages on newsgroups in the 1990's are still floating around the internet.

Never say anything you aren't willing to stand behind. Because it won't go away. And with authoritarian regimes coming to power... you gotta be cognizant of the potential consequences

But generally, I agree with you. The further we get away from groupthink the better we are for it. When we self-censor out of fear of disapproval we are perpetuating the cycle and making it more likely the next person doesn't speak their mind.

Just because everyone believes something is right, does not mean it is. The majority has been wrong in the past and it will be wrong in the future.

You can be fired for what you say if it is linked back to you. That actually happens pretty regularly

On the internet you can just freely say what you really think even if you know it's unpopular.

This advice is SUPER dependent on where you live. People in the Middle East have been executed for saying the wrong thing on the Internet. People in the UK have been imprisoned for saying the wrong thing online. Criticize social policy or Government in China and its quite possible you'll be off to prison.

Even in the good Ol' USA there's limits to how free your speech can be online.

If people are saying something you disagree with you can just say it and you won’t be fired or ostracized for it.

But you can be banned which is pretty much the online equivalent to being fired or kicked out of school.

Lol sounda like it bro's first time online

On the other hand, no one is obligated to listen to you, and freedom of speech does not equal freedom from the consequences of said speech. If you voice an unpopular opinion, be prepared to not be popular.

Ironic to find someone saying this on Lemmy. It's a miserable echo chamber here.

Yeah, people will probably get angry and say mean things to you but those are just words which can be ignored. Offence is taken, not given.

This is naïve. The no one likes being insulted and downvoted for expressing their views. Sure, it doesn’t bother some people as much as others, but it’s not a conscious choice to “just ignore it,” as though that will prevent any negative feelings. The reality is that people with unpopular views stay silent to avoid these consequences, and that’s an entirely rational choice. You would do better to spend your time chastising people who attack those with unpopular views than to try to convince those with unpopular views to willingly expose themselves to online abuse.

I've often been banned, blocked, or mass downvoted for saying something unpopular.

YSK too that not everything that's said has equal value or merit.

This is important for both expressing and hearing/reading opinions.

I heard op of this post is the actual shooter in the murder of the Brian Thompson case. Sources say he went mad after his claim to be turned into a cat e girl was denied by united

Source-trust me bro

That's patently false.

Ironically one of the first comments I saw in this post was "deleted by a moderator." I guess that person doesn't get to say whatever they want.

Lemmy is only pseudonymous and is a bit of an echo chamber. Lots of things you write or otherwise share on the Internet (here or elsewhere) can come back to haunt you.

Nice try FBI

It's just words on a screen. Easy enough to scroll on by without commenting. On my screen, upvote usually means 'thanks for sharing' rather then agreement.

If people are saying something you disagree with you can just say it

sure 😁 👍 💯

and you won’t be fired or ostracized for it

🤦 WAT, how do you know that?

Sorry, but you don't get to set the expectations of how people will react.

If people are saying something you disagree with you can just say it and you won't be fired or ostracized for it. Yeah, people will probably get angry and say mean things to you but those are just words which can be ignored.

What is the purpose, then? If I can't ignore others, others can ignore you. This only lead to useless, unsatisfactory, unproductive and dumb arguments with random people on internet.