4 ms·
I recently read "They Thought They Were Free (Germans 1930-1945)" where he mentions that after the war the Germans were amazed to hear that you could still buy
by brobdingnagians 6y ago
I recently read "They Thought They Were Free (Germans 1930-1945)" where he mentions that after the war the Germans were amazed to hear that you could still buy Mein Kampf in the United States throughout the entirety of World War II. The US used to be a bastion of free speech and classical liberal values. Oh how things have changed.
- op00to 6y agoPlease tell me how your speech is being limited.
- tsimionescu 6y agoWhile many other bans, especially on social media, seem to me to be quite nuanced, banning the re-sale of an old book is insane. Who does it hurt of this book is still sold? There are good reasons not to publish it for children anymore. There are good reasons not to stock it in a book shop. There are good reasons not to lend it to children in a library. But why would you prevent two people from selling it between themselves at a (digital) marketplace?
- op00to 6y agoThe re-sale of the book is NOT banned. You're free (at least in some cities) to sell that awful book on a filthy blanket on the sidewalk if you want. You're free to put an ad in the newspaper. Just because a single company doesn't want to be associated with something that is hurtful does not mean you are prevented from trading in whatever book you desire.
- tsimionescu 6y agoIt IS banned on eBay. Who does this protect? Who is hurt if A sells a Seuss book with hurtful stereotype pictures to B on eBay? This is not like Facebook amplifying someone's vile posts and showing them to hundreds or thousands of people. It's just a 1:1 transaction for a physical object that contains racist depictions.
- pineaux 6y agoTell me, should the government force ebay to sell this book? Or should Ebay be free to decide themselves? I don't get why everyone is so worked up.
- tsimionescu 6y agoEbay should be forced to allow buyers and sellers to trade anything that is not illegal. They should not be forced to promote items they do not want to promote, but they should not have the final say on whether I can sell or buy an item on their platform.
- op00to 6y agoWhy should they not have the final say? It’s their platform. By the way, in eBay’s seller terms & condx, I guarantee there’s a clause where sellers give up any recourse if eBay decides for any reason to delist your items.
- christkv 6y agoMakes you wonder if Adolph kept getting royalty checks from the us.
- pineaux 6y agoYes. That happened. Also, IBM sold machines that were used to further the holocaust to germany during the war.
- IncRnd 6y agoAnd Bayer now makes aspirin instead of chemical weapons. They've come a long way since their US and Canadian property was confiscated during WWI. In WWII Bayer used slave labor in its factories that were inside of concentration camps.
- dopidop 6y agoI mean, the US was really close to just do nothing. And nazi support was pretty strong until late in the war.