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Should we erase the past?

by DrSiemer 6y ago

dd36 6y ago
Selling the past is the only way it gets remembered? A store should not have the freedom to determine what it sells?
- DrSiemer 6y ago
  A store, yes. But when a store is as big as eBay they should only interfere very sparingly, preferably only to remove illegal products. Do you trust eBay to judge what is right and what is wrong for you? I sure as hell don't. The question above can be modified to make it reflect the current argument more accurately to: should HN censor all earlier posts and comments, based on the most recent changes in sensitivities? Edit: question above, not yours
  - dd36 6y ago
    Ebay isn’t a monopoly.
UncleMeat 6y ago
This canard. After Charlottesville, the AHA put out a statement making it clear that removing confederate statues from public view was absolutely not “erasing history”. Nobody listened to them. People just kept going on about the left erasing the past. This made it clear that this was just a culture war rather than honest concern. If you are worried about erasing the past, get the opinion of some historians.
- DrSiemer 6y ago
  Erasing the past is not the main concern here. We all know history is written by the victors. What worries me is the voluntary whitewashing and consequent suppression of alternative media by companies whose judgement is solely based on PR. A publisher choosing not to reprint works that contain questionable content is completely understandable and well within their right. Nobody is arguing they have to print these books. But when the biggest open marketplaces begin to decide what is allowed for resale, that is something else entirely. It's a slippery slope to let public outcry determine what is easily available and what is not.
  - UncleMeat 6y ago
    > Erasing the past is not the main concern here. Then why was that the entire content of your post? > We all know history is written by the victors. It isn't. All of the history professors I know cringe at this phrase.
    - DrSiemer 6y ago
      My post was a reply to someone making an equally short statement. Please don't take it out of that context.

Should we erase the past?

dd36 6y ago

Selling the past is the only way it gets remembered? A store should not have the freedom to determine what it sells?

DrSiemer 6y ago
A store, yes. But when a store is as big as eBay they should only interfere very sparingly, preferably only to remove illegal products. Do you trust eBay to judge what is right and what is wrong for you? I sure as hell don't. The question above can be modified to make it reflect the current argument more accurately to: should HN censor all earlier posts and comments, based on the most recent changes in sensitivities? Edit: question above, not yours
- dd36 6y ago
  Ebay isn’t a monopoly.

UncleMeat 6y ago

This canard. After Charlottesville, the AHA put out a statement making it clear that removing confederate statues from public view was absolutely not “erasing history”. Nobody listened to them. People just kept going on about the left erasing the past. This made it clear that this was just a culture war rather than honest concern. If you are worried about erasing the past, get the opinion of some historians.

DrSiemer 6y ago
Erasing the past is not the main concern here. We all know history is written by the victors. What worries me is the voluntary whitewashing and consequent suppression of alternative media by companies whose judgement is solely based on PR. A publisher choosing not to reprint works that contain questionable content is completely understandable and well within their right. Nobody is arguing they have to print these books. But when the biggest open marketplaces begin to decide what is allowed for resale, that is something else entirely. It's a slippery slope to let public outcry determine what is easily available and what is not.
- UncleMeat 6y ago
  > Erasing the past is not the main concern here. Then why was that the entire content of your post? > We all know history is written by the victors. It isn't. All of the history professors I know cringe at this phrase.
  - DrSiemer 6y ago
    My post was a reply to someone making an equally short statement. Please don't take it out of that context.