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So are you in favour of hunting down every copy of Mein Kampf and burning them? What about all the other things said by Hitler? What about Stalin? What about

So are you in favour of hunting down every copy of Mein Kampf and burning them? What about all the other things said by Hitler? What about Stalin? What about non-white supremacist manifestos? They do exist, you know. How much history would you erase due to your belief that words are capable of 'infecting' (presumably) lesser minds? There's no evidence that manifestos spread "extremism and terrorism like a virus". Words are not able to infect people against their will. There are only ideas, and they can only be fought with reflection, more words and more ideas. In the end, white supremacists and other kinds of supremacists existed before the internet. By supporting China-style censorship you're not actually eliminating those ideas, or even stopping their spread.

king_magic 7y ago
> Words are not able to infect people against their will. ... are you kidding?
- BillyBadA 7y ago
  Your Jedi mind tricks will not work on me.
- whiteopinions 7y ago
  If you have to ask that, then you don't know what forum you're on. It's a very real opinion and one that gets acted on politically.
  - king_magic 7y ago
    If you think words can’t infect people, you’re kidding yourself. And yes, I know exactly what forum I’m on.
    - whiteopinions 7y ago
      I know they can infect people. It was a ridiculous statement
- repolfx 7y ago
  The idea that words can control people's minds against their will is the stuff of sci-fi and fantasy stories, not reality. As observed in a reply, it's literally the Jedi Mind Trick. Where did you get the idea it's real?
anongraddebt 7y ago
You can probably mitigate their spread. However, as the poster does seem to want Chinese-style authoritarianism, I can only conclude they have limited experience of what that looks like in reality. As an aside, I've defended certain versions of democratic socialism (though I'm not a fan of it) to some of my friends that are recent immigrants from China (having worked grown up there and worked in the corporate world). All of them think capitalism and Western democracy is the greatest thing since sliced bread.
- kiliantics 7y ago
  The people you know from China are a highly biased sample, most Chinese are very happy with the way China is run.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
magpi3 7y ago
> In the end, white supremacists and other kinds of supremacists existed before the internet. By supporting China-style censorship you're not actually eliminating those ideas, or even stopping their spread. They existed before the internet, but the internet has given them a tool to organize that they didn't have before. And by censoring them online effectively, you take this tool away from them. Which is exactly what happens in China. I am sure Chinese officials know ideas and philosophies spread on the mainland, but as long as the people who believe in those ideas and philosophies can't organize effectively then they can be controlled.
- iamnothere 7y ago
  Yes, let's be more like China! I'm looking forward to requiring loyalty oaths from our many religious groups. Where do you think we should put the reeducation camps? Edit: in a less sarcastic way, a government can accomplish quite a bit if it has no concern for the rights of its citizens. There is a reason we don't do this kind of thing in the West; it's a good reason and it's one that China will eventually learn the hard way.
  - magpi3 7y ago
    I never said we should be more like China. I just said that internet censorship can prevent extremist groups from organizing (which it can).
    - ThrowawayR2 7y ago
      > I just said that internet censorship can prevent extremist groups from organizing (which it can). That's exactly what China does, for their definition of extremist. But, of course, that could never happen in the US, right? I mean, it's about as likely as a bombastic demagogue being elected to the presidency. /s

king_magic 7y ago

> Words are not able to infect people against their will. ... are you kidding?

BillyBadA 7y ago
Your Jedi mind tricks will not work on me.
whiteopinions 7y ago
If you have to ask that, then you don't know what forum you're on. It's a very real opinion and one that gets acted on politically.
- king_magic 7y ago
  If you think words can’t infect people, you’re kidding yourself. And yes, I know exactly what forum I’m on.
  - whiteopinions 7y ago
    I know they can infect people. It was a ridiculous statement
repolfx 7y ago
The idea that words can control people's minds against their will is the stuff of sci-fi and fantasy stories, not reality. As observed in a reply, it's literally the Jedi Mind Trick. Where did you get the idea it's real?

anongraddebt 7y ago

You can probably mitigate their spread. However, as the poster does seem to want Chinese-style authoritarianism, I can only conclude they have limited experience of what that looks like in reality. As an aside, I've defended certain versions of democratic socialism (though I'm not a fan of it) to some of my friends that are recent immigrants from China (having worked grown up there and worked in the corporate world). All of them think capitalism and Western democracy is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

kiliantics 7y ago
The people you know from China are a highly biased sample, most Chinese are very happy with the way China is run.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

magpi3 7y ago

> In the end, white supremacists and other kinds of supremacists existed before the internet. By supporting China-style censorship you're not actually eliminating those ideas, or even stopping their spread. They existed before the internet, but the internet has given them a tool to organize that they didn't have before. And by censoring them online effectively, you take this tool away from them. Which is exactly what happens in China. I am sure Chinese officials know ideas and philosophies spread on the mainland, but as long as the people who believe in those ideas and philosophies can't organize effectively then they can be controlled.

iamnothere 7y ago
Yes, let's be more like China! I'm looking forward to requiring loyalty oaths from our many religious groups. Where do you think we should put the reeducation camps? Edit: in a less sarcastic way, a government can accomplish quite a bit if it has no concern for the rights of its citizens. There is a reason we don't do this kind of thing in the West; it's a good reason and it's one that China will eventually learn the hard way.
- magpi3 7y ago
  I never said we should be more like China. I just said that internet censorship can prevent extremist groups from organizing (which it can).
  - ThrowawayR2 7y ago
    > I just said that internet censorship can prevent extremist groups from organizing (which it can). That's exactly what China does, for their definition of extremist. But, of course, that could never happen in the US, right? I mean, it's about as likely as a bombastic demagogue being elected to the presidency. /s