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Ok so you think Alex Jones should be banned, we agree.
by tomlock 8y ago
Ok so you think Alex Jones should be banned, we agree.
- downandout 8y agoI do, yes. I also think Sarah Jeong and her ilk should be both banned from Twitter and fired from the NYT. If her comments were directed at any other race, we wouldn’t even be having this discussion - she would have been banned and never hired. That is an extraordinary double standard. The bottom line is, nobody should be giving those that wish to spew hate speech a large platform with which to do it - regardless of who that hate is directed at. Edit: The fact that a comment with this sentiment has been downvoted says everything one needs to know about how toxic HN has become.
- tomlock 8y agoIt could be that generally whataboutism is something people don't like, rather than some indication of the "toxicity" of this website.
- downandout 8y ago“Whataboutism” is relevant in a case where there is clear bias. If what Alex Jones posted violated Twitter’s rules, I am perfectly fine with his account being suspended or even permanently banned. I certainly don’t agree with or want to see his whacked out posts. But I’m not at all fine with the rules being selectively enforced, seemingly along political lines. And yes, if saying that nobody should be given a megaphone with which to spew hateful rhetoric gets downvotes, that is an indication of the toxicity of HN.
- tomlock 8y agoBut both Jeong and Jones are currently not banned, so I'm not sure why you think saying "what about how Jeong isn't banned" is anything but whataboutism.
- downandout 8y agoPoint is that Jeong was never banned, while Jones was.
- tomlock 8y agoBut their situations aren't equivalent.
- downandout 8y agoHow are they not? They both said truly terrible, almost unspeakable things. What makes them not equivalent?
- tomlock 8y agoThey clearly aren't equivalent. What specific people were harmed by Jeong's speech? Were you specifically upset by Jeong's speech? Yes? Ok, now imagine your child has been shot and then someone says you're a liar, and that since their death people keep showing up at your house and church calling you a liar. Do you think you'd be more or less upset by this?
- downandout 8y agoWere you specifically upset by Jeong's speech? Yes? Yes, I specifically was indeed very upset by Jeong's speech, as any other human should be (apparently you were not). Nobody should be saying those things about any race, period. Arguably, some of her tweets also called for violence. Her favorite hashtag - "#CancelWhitePeople" - calls for the elimination of white people from the planet. You're going to try to stick to your argument, but there's no winning this one. Calling for the elimination of an entire race of people is just as bad if not worse than making some ridiculous assertions about a mass shooting being a hoax.
- tomlock 8y ago