Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, a writer, has expressed concern about society’s “epidemic of self-censorship.” In a BBC lecture on free speech, the author stated that young people were becoming “afraid to raise questions for fear of asking the wrong ones.”
The acclaimed Nigerian author warned that such conditions could lead to “the death of curiosity, learning, and creativity.” She went on to say that no human endeavor necessitates freedom more than creation. Adichie, author of Half of a Yellow Sun and Americanah, delivered the first of four Reith Lectures for Radio 4 this year, all of which focused on freedom issues.
She claimed that, contrary to what he said in 2012, Sir Salman Rushdie’s controversial book The Satanic Verses would “probably not” be published today. Sir Salman was assaulted on stage earlier this year at a literary event. He suffered liver damage, nerve damage in one arm, and vision loss in one eye.
Iran threatened Sir Salman’s life in the 1980s because of his fourth book, The Satanic Verses. Some Muslims consider the book to be blasphemous.
“Would Rushdie’s book be published today?” “Most likely not,” Adichie added. “Would it be written anyway?” Maybe not.”
She asserted that an increasing number of people are viewing literature “through ideological rather than artistic lenses.”
“The recent emergence of “sensitivity readers” in the publishing industry, people whose job it is to remove potentially objectionable language from unpublished manuscripts, is the best example of this,” she continued.
“This, in my opinion, disproves the fundamental concept of literature.”
If any of the works that had “shaped, inspired, and comforted” her were suppressed, she claimed, “I could today be lost.” The 45-year-old also expressed concern about some people suppressing their opinions for fear of being harshly criticized or becoming the latest victim of cancel culture.
We’ve all heard stories about people who expressed their opinions verbally or in writing and then faced severe backlash online, the speaker said.
“A distinction must be made between legitimate criticism, which falls under the category of free speech, and this type of retaliation, which includes nasty personal jabs, posting addresses of houses and children’s schools online, and attempting to force individuals out of their jobs.”
“No, to anyone who believes that some people deserve it because they have said horrible things.” Nobody deserves it. It represents heinous cruelty. It is a virtual act of vigilantism intended not only to silence the speaker but also to foster an atmosphere of vengeance that discourages others from speaking.”
Chimamanda Adichie’s 2006 novel Half of a Yellow Sun was chosen as the best Women’s Prize for Fiction winner in the award’s 25-year history in 2020.
The other Reith Lectures feature former Canterbury Archbishop Lord Rowan Williams discussing religious freedom, former White House advisor on Russia Dr. Fiona Hill discussing fearlessness, and novelist and musician Darren McGarvey discussing wantlessness.
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