3 ms·
My point is exactly the opposite of saying the two are comparable... The idea is that when Electronic Intifada's webhost or their donation processor or Twitter
by detcader 8y ago
My point is exactly the opposite of saying the two are comparable...
The idea is that when Electronic Intifada's webhost or their donation processor or Twitter decides they want some positive PR, more and more they can safely say "It isn't a website that respectfully questions orthodoxy regarding US foreign policy. It's anti-Semitic abuse." That doesn't mean I think EI and Gab are comparable, it means I think other people with connections and power think they are, or it benefits them to normalize the comparison.
- tptacek 8y agoIsn't it a little ironic that your example of a problematic counterpart for Gab.ai is itself a site in part dedicated to boycotts?
- detcader 8y agoA boycott of a country with a government and military killing unarmed protesters and carrying out other human rights violations? I don't know that this exchange is going places right now... For something positive, I appreciate all you all are doing with the Great Slate.
- tptacek 8y agoI am sympathetic to the BDS movement! I'm just saying, you're suggesting that commercial entities could use commercial coercion against Electric Intifada, which is itself an organization that enthusiastically seeks to use commercial coercion against supporters of Israel. Like, I think, most people, I'm a believer in boycotts. You bring the pressure you have to bear on the causes you believe in, and the most potent pressure most people have at their disposal is commercial. It's also itself a straightforward application of free speech. But, then, that's effectively what's happening to Gab, too. It's (again) not clear to me why anyone who is OK with boycotting would be up in arms about it --- excepting people who are sympathetic to Gab's mission. Let me be clear that there's no subtext that you're one of those people!