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It’s way worse than that. Even centrists and liberals are silenced by the vocal mob for merely questioning the validity of certain policies or initiatives that

It’s way worse than that. Even centrists and liberals are silenced by the vocal mob for merely questioning the validity of certain policies or initiatives that claim to have some righteous sounding goal, even when there is evidence that the proposed policy is more likely to be harmful than helpful. For example, it should not be controversial to debate the merits of Black Lives Matter, but since the alternate reality that certain people want to project doesn’t hold up well against facts and data, it’s easier just to brand you a racist (or whatever-ist, depending on the topic) instead. There is a ton of self-censorship and coercion by these activists asserting their supposed moral authority, which is not a good road to go down. In an industry full of data scientists and engineers, it amazes me how people go along with this narrative that disparate outcomes among members of arbitrary group identities is evidence of discrimination. We know that is not a valid application of statistics, yet people who know better still keep repeating it.

0xy 6y ago
Not only will you be viciously attacked for questioning BLM, but an open source maintainer at Facebook was publicly attacked by coworkers for politely declining a request to put a BLM banner on the website for an open source project (he stated he wanted to remain apolitical, without giving an opinion). Social advocacy is a spiritual replacement to religion and supporters are even more fervent.
webkike 6y ago
I always find it curious that some people find BLM as something by which the merits of are debatable. What’s there to debate?
- lawnchair_larry 6y ago
  THIS is why it’s so insidious. BLM is a well funded political organization with self-described marxist founders. It has about as much to do with black lives as the Nazi party had to do with “national socialism”. Nobody thinks black lives don’t matter. This is very different from supporting BLM, however. Many prominent black public figures have come out denouncing BLM, and it isn’t because they think their own lives don’t matter. The name is purely orwellian PR trickery that you can’t argue with, just like “antifa” is. It’s a remarkably effective tactic because most people assume it just means what the words say.
- jiuahweruihawi 6y ago
  I always find it curious that some people take the name "Black Lives Matter" at face value, and assume that the only possible reason anyone might find the organisation (not the slogan) debatable is that they don't think black lives matter. Do you assume that anyone who criticises The People's Democratic Republic of Korea hates democracy and Koreans?
- TedShiller 6y ago
  That any race matters more than any other race. If someone put "X Lives Matter" on a t-shirt, where X is any other race, they would be attacked, or at least fired from their job. Similarly, you can go to work wearing a blue Biden hat, and nothing would happen. However, if you went to work wearing a red Trump hat, it might be your last day at work. In a democratic society, this doesn't make sense.
- liquidise 6y ago
  It depends on if your use of BLM means "lives of those of African-decent matter" or "the Black Lives Matter movement/group". Personally i would expect the former to have more widespread support in America. The latter stands for many things that could be more controversial in the states. A DuckDuckGo for "blm demands"[0] returns the following NPR piece[1] from DC-based interviews. It lists BLM demands as: - Defund Police - No New Jails - Decriminalize Sex Work - Police-Free Schools - Drop Charges Against Protesters - End Cash Bail In Maryland - Ban Stop And Frisk 0: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=blm+demands https://duckduckgo.com/?q=blm+demands 1: https://www.npr.org/local/305/2020/06/09/872859084/here-s-what-black-lives-matter-d-c-is-calling-for-and-where-the-city-stands https://www.npr.org/local/305/2020/06/09/872859084/here-s-wh...

0xy 6y ago

Not only will you be viciously attacked for questioning BLM, but an open source maintainer at Facebook was publicly attacked by coworkers for politely declining a request to put a BLM banner on the website for an open source project (he stated he wanted to remain apolitical, without giving an opinion). Social advocacy is a spiritual replacement to religion and supporters are even more fervent.

webkike 6y ago

I always find it curious that some people find BLM as something by which the merits of are debatable. What’s there to debate?

lawnchair_larry 6y ago
THIS is why it’s so insidious. BLM is a well funded political organization with self-described marxist founders. It has about as much to do with black lives as the Nazi party had to do with “national socialism”. Nobody thinks black lives don’t matter. This is very different from supporting BLM, however. Many prominent black public figures have come out denouncing BLM, and it isn’t because they think their own lives don’t matter. The name is purely orwellian PR trickery that you can’t argue with, just like “antifa” is. It’s a remarkably effective tactic because most people assume it just means what the words say.
jiuahweruihawi 6y ago
I always find it curious that some people take the name "Black Lives Matter" at face value, and assume that the only possible reason anyone might find the organisation (not the slogan) debatable is that they don't think black lives matter. Do you assume that anyone who criticises The People's Democratic Republic of Korea hates democracy and Koreans?
TedShiller 6y ago
That any race matters more than any other race. If someone put "X Lives Matter" on a t-shirt, where X is any other race, they would be attacked, or at least fired from their job. Similarly, you can go to work wearing a blue Biden hat, and nothing would happen. However, if you went to work wearing a red Trump hat, it might be your last day at work. In a democratic society, this doesn't make sense.
liquidise 6y ago
It depends on if your use of BLM means "lives of those of African-decent matter" or "the Black Lives Matter movement/group". Personally i would expect the former to have more widespread support in America. The latter stands for many things that could be more controversial in the states. A DuckDuckGo for "blm demands"[0] returns the following NPR piece[1] from DC-based interviews. It lists BLM demands as: - Defund Police - No New Jails - Decriminalize Sex Work - Police-Free Schools - Drop Charges Against Protesters - End Cash Bail In Maryland - Ban Stop And Frisk 0: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=blm+demands https://duckduckgo.com/?q=blm+demands 1: https://www.npr.org/local/305/2020/06/09/872859084/here-s-what-black-lives-matter-d-c-is-calling-for-and-where-the-city-stands https://www.npr.org/local/305/2020/06/09/872859084/here-s-wh...