"If my opponents are allowed to speak then democracy is over"

[BlueJuniper94]

Why do some people seem to believe and claim this? Am I being unreasonable

Who is saying this?

If you mean “in general”, then the fact that we have discussions on controversial
topics on here and
can criticise the government shows that democracy is alive and well, surely?

if anyone really does take that stance then obviously they’d BU and you would be entirely reasonable to object. But I’m not sure I’ve seen anyone say exactly that.

The nearest I can think of is the ridiculous shenanigans of some councillors in Bristol, is that what you mean?

People are highly unlikely to actually come out and admit it as blatantly as that, but an awful lot of people do actually think that way - and will refuse to allow your voice to be heard, because as far as they are concerned, you are objectively 'wrong' and that's that.

I was the junior member on a committee for a sports' club for a while. There was a big argument one time about how something was allocated. When I say big argument, it was effectively chair on one side, about 6 people on the other and about 6 people ready to hear reasoned arguments.

Vote was taken. Chair lost about 10-1.

Chair resigned the next way because "they couldn't agree with how decisions were made in the club."
They put a letter up in the clubhouse. Someone wrote under it "You mean by democratic vote."

And in case you're wondering, the way they had been allocated in the past was by the chair distributing them. Previous chairs had allocated them round the club. This chair had taken them all for themselves and family (most of whom weren't members) since they'd been chair (2 years) so there was reasonable grounds for objection.

Some people are all for freedom of speech until they hear something they don't like.

Context?

It's specifically what the phrase "No Debate" means.

Ah! I see.

Well the trans issue is still debated and the UK Supreme Court did just that,
ultimately favouring biology over “feelings.

Some people don’t want their opponents to speak because they know perfectly well those opponents have good arguments.

Other people have become so accustomed to censorship - both soft and hard- that they don’t even realise it exists. They contentedly look out of the Overton window and genuinely don’t see the frame, or the walls, or the death & suffering & predation going on outside the tiny area the window reveals.

The trans issue is now debated, but it took a lot of effort to push back against #nodebate.

Lets not pretend that it just happened or that it was always happening, and that there are people that don't want it debated at all.