We’ve all seen it: in a group, a few voices dominate, others fall silent, and some struggle to break through. Maybe you’re an introvert, like me? Personality plays a role — but so do identity, power, and context. What does it take for you to speak up and be heard?
Tomorrow at the TUD Library we’ll be asking: how do we express ourselves in public? Because what happens in small groups also plays out at the scale of society. We all want to be heard, seen, and included. But who gets space in public — both among peers and among opponents — is deeply political. And the spaces where we speak, online or in person, shape what is possible to say, and to whom.
Here’s the hard truth: expressing yourself is risky. You make yourself vulnerable to disagreement, criticism, even censorship or oppression. But speech can also be risky for others: words can wound, incite, or escalate into violence. The violent protest in The Hague last weekend is a stark reminder of what happens when emotions overwhelm reason: fear grows, society feels less safe, and democracy itself weakens.
So I keep circling back to three questions:
- Can democracy survive if only the loudest shouters claim the space?
- Is a society where every voice is heard equally always better?
- Are there opinions that we shouldn’t tolerate to begin with?
My instinct is yes: in theory, there should be room for everyone’s opinion. Pro-Palestine demonstrators should be allowed to speak, as should pro-Israel voices. Anti-immigration groups must be free to gather, and Antifa must be free to counter them — peacefully. That’s democracy.
But making space for all voices without letting violence dominate or silence take over requires more than just tolerance. It demands effort, empathy, emotional maturity — even intentional design of our public spaces. This is true for our streets, our social media (and the companies behind them), and even a place like a university campus. Looking at Karl Popper, the philosopher, the paradox of tolerating the intolerant is one that should be at the forefront of our minds in this age.
Perfect equity and perfect safety may be impossible. But democracy depends on our willingness to keep trying — to create spaces where as many as possible can speak, and still be heard.
Join us tomorrow to reflect on how we can shape that fragile, necessary balance.
12:45pm | Existential Tuesday: How do you claim space?
5:00pm | Is the campus designed for protest?