Britons attending a free speech festival in London have hailed their ability to speak their truth amongst other people keen to debate, declaring it a “relief”.
Speaking to GB News, attendees revealed they fear “speaking out” on matters in their own social circles, through fear of “upsetting” friends or getting a “reaction” over their views.
The twentieth Battle of Ideas festival took place over the weekend in London, covering an enormous range of debates about politics, economics, science and culture.
The festival hosted over 100 live debates on an array of topics, allowing Britons to speak their mind and encounter “respectful disagreement”.
Britons hail free speech festival amid fears of ‘speaking the truth’ in their own social circles
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GB NEWS
Speaking to those at the festival, one attendee told GB News: “Here you can talk about anything, it’s such a relief. Anywhere else you go you feel like you’re trying to put across ideas or facts that a lot of people are hostile to.
“And so it’s nice to be amongst people that allow you to say things that even if they disagree with them, you’re not going to destroy them and they’re not going to hate you.”
Another young woman attending the event told the People’s Channel that she is returning for a second year in a row after enjoying the atmosphere the first time.
She said: “I was here last year, so it’s my second time back. I had a great time last year, so I’m back for more.
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Attendees admitted their fears of speaking out in their own social circles
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GB NEWS
“I think last year I was just looking for a space to be able to sort of really challenge myself, and in terms of debating different topics that just don’t get talked about. It’s really nice to see there’s so many more young people.”
Admitting she fears speaking on issues in her own social circles, the attendee added: “That’s sort of why I came last year, to meet some more people my age to talk about things.
“There’s things that I can’t talk in my social circles because you never know who might get upset or how they’re going to react or whatever.”
Highlighting the free speech crisis in Britain, another woman at the festival said society must “find a way back” from the “polarisation” we are currently facing.
One attendee praised the festival as an ‘institution’
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GB NEWS
She explained: “It’s important that we have different ideas, diversity of thought is really important. But people are frightened now to actually speak out and share and share what they think.
“And if you don’t agree, that’s fine, you can agree to disagree, and we’ve got to learn to do that again. We’ve got to find a way back from this polarisation that we found ourselves in, this us and them kind of society that we’ve ended up with.
“And we can see the effects are of that, so we need to somehow pull together to get back to that respectful disagreement, and this is where those debates start.”
Praising the Battle of Ideas festival as an “institution”, another Briton told GB News: “It’s no way an echo chamber, there’s so many different viewpoints, and it’s just a pity you can’t get to everything because there’s so much on.
“But it’s such a great institution, basically. I love it, especially with the online world that we live in, people that only know how to debate online, and having these discussions in person and kind of practicing the skill of debating and even arguing for positions that you don’t necessarily agree with is so important, and it’s a skill that we’re competing against.”
