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They do this because they see words as weapons to be used against their enemies, nothing more. It’s not that they believe in freedom of speech incompletely. The
by mikeash 8y ago
They do this because they see words as weapons to be used against their enemies, nothing more. It’s not that they believe in freedom of speech incompletely. They just know that freedom of speech is something other people care about, and it can be used as a rhetorical weapon.
“Never believe that anti-Semites are completely unaware of the absurdity of their replies. They know that their remarks are frivolous, open to challenge. But they are amusing themselves, for it is their adversary who is obliged to use words responsibly, since he believes in words. The anti-Semites have the right to play. They even like to play with discourse for, by giving ridiculous reasons, they discredit the seriousness of their interlocutors. They delight in acting in bad faith, since they seek not to persuade by sound argument but to intimidate and disconcert. If you press them too closely, they will abruptly fall silent, loftily indicating by some phrase that the time for argument is past.”
- meowface 8y agoI don't understand what you're trying to claim. Are you suggesting the owners of Gab are anti-Semitic?
- mikeash 8y agoI’m suggesting that people who cry “freedom of speech” when others won’t do business with them, while simultaneously suppressing dissent among their own ranks, are using it as a rhetorical weapon rather than as a principle they follow but I completely.
- meowface 8y agoI agree with you, but in this situation, who is "suppressing dissent among their own ranks"?
- krapp 8y agoNo one. Banning Gab.com isn't suppressing dissent, since Gab.com weren't dissenting against Paypal. Also, Gab.com weren't in "the ranks of" Paypal, nor was Paypal "in the ranks of" Gab.com. Paypal had no apparent issue with Gab until recently, so politics being the catalyst of Paypal's decision seems unlikely in this case, as they could have banned Gab at any time. Rather, recent extenuating circumstances seem to have made a client relationship with Gab no longer tolerable for Paypal.