I’m gonna break down what bothers me about this post, if I can:
individuals are often compelled to show respect to authority figures such as teachers, elders, and parents, even when that respect may not be warranted.
Okay, so: showing respect to everyone is always warranted. I have no patience for the “respect must be earned” crowd. Every human deserves it, full stop.
This expectation can significantly restrict personal freedom
Look, I’m as liberal as they come, but person freedom doesn’t come without a cost. If you want to say something, you have to be willing to deal with reasonable consequences, including being avoided by those who dont want to hear it, including disrupting social stability.
a student argues that certain subjects are irrelevant… may be ridiculed instead of engaged.
While ridicule would not be appropriate, disabusing them of this idea would be. This is not “speaking the truth”, the student is flat wrong. A teacher with enough time may use this as a wY to teach critical thinking in the process of disabusing the student, but when have you seen a teacher with enough time?
suppression of honest expression
Honesty and authenticity are buzzwords for people who think their feelings are more important than facts. It doesn’t matter how honest and earnest you are if you’re honestly incorrect.
In many families, children who question traditional practices or beliefs may be dismissed or scolded, reinforcing the idea that challenging authority is unacceptable.
Yes, this does happen. I’m going to just note the sloppy rhetoric here: “may be” as a hedge and switching from the relatively anodyne “question” to the much more forceful “challenge”. To question why a social structure exists is good and healthy. To challenge it is disruptive. To challenge it needlessly is actively unhealthy. Learning this is part of what parents should be teaching their children.
answers that serve to maintain the status quo… causing many to stop asking questions altogether and trust blindly in the authority figures
That’s quite the leap. People unsatisfied with the answers to their questions don’t tend to trust the people giving the unsatisfactory answers.
Individuals who dare to question established norms often find themselves isolated or avoided by their peers.
Again, needless disruption is a negative experience for those around you and you should expect people to avoid those experiences. This is human nature.
societies may publicly insult or ridicule those who challenge the status quo, effectively discouraging others from voicing their concerns
From voicing their concerns or from disrupting the status quo? Stable societies try to keep existing, that’s what makes them stable.
As a result, many who have valid questions find themselves silenced, ignored
What valid questions? The only example you’ve given (students not wanting to learn) was not valid.
an important question: is this enforced respect and suppression of dissent a form of indirect mass psychosis?
No. It’s just regular old social pressure.
More often I see OPs deleting their own posts which is frustrating. I almost never see mod action at the thread level.