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Yes, censorship. Which is a bad thing. Ideas, even disagreeable ones, should be permitted. Otherwise you don’t have a real democracy.

_Algernon_ 1y ago
That's no longer a justification once you have algorithmic amplification which Substack introduced with its Twitter immitation. At that point they ceased to just tolerate these ideas but to amplify them. At that point they carry more responsibility, and people rightly blame them for it. Free speech is fine. A private company handing nazis a megaphone and not accepting criticism for it is not.
archagon 1y ago
Should it be the responsibility of a periodical to publish every random Nazi op-ed? (And then send out push notifications for it?) Assholes can self-publish, as always, IMO.
- SilverElfin 1y ago
  I’m not sure what you mean by “responsibility”. But if thing are published or notified based on content neutral criteria, then it’s fine in my opinion.
slg 1y ago
This is an ironic response to a comment on HN that is being downvoted and soon will be censored by the crowd based flagging and voting system for being "disagreeable".
sofixa 1y ago
> Otherwise you don’t have a real democracy. I don't know how this myth came to be. One would think that the experiences of the Weimar Republic would be enough to learn the lesson. No, a democracy doesn't have to allow forces that literally want to destroy it an equal voice. Fascists and Nazis don't want to be a part of democratic society, they want to abuse it to get power and then dismantle it. As such, it's the duty of real democracies to protect themselves from such malicious actors. Because if they win, everyone loses. And we're seeing this in one of the supposedly more democratic countries, right now - a coup attempt by wannabe fascists was left without consequences, and now fascists are dismantling checks and balances and democratic institutions. An extremely good quote from Nazi Minister of Propaganda on the matter: > “We are an anti-parliamentarian party that for good reasons rejects the Weimar constitution and its republican institutions. We oppose a fake democracy that treats the intelligent and the foolish, the industrious and the lazy, in the same way. We see in the present system of majorities and organized irresponsibility the main cause of our steadily increasing miseries. > So why do we want to be in the Reichstag? > We enter the Reichstag to arm ourselves with the weapons of democracy. If democracy is foolish enough to give us free railway passes and salaries, that is its problem. It does not concern us. Any way of bringing about the revolution is fine by us. > If we succeed in getting sixty or seventy of our party’s agitators and organizers elected to the various parliaments, the state itself will pay for our fighting organization. That is amusing and entertaining enough to be worth trying. > Will we be corrupted by joining parliament? Not likely. Do you think us such miserable revolutionaries that you fear that the thick red carpets and the well-upholstered sleeping halls will make us forget our historical mission? > Is our entry into the Reichstag the beginning of a compromise? Do you really think that we who have stood before you a hundred or a thousand times preaching faith in a new Germany, who have smilingly faced death dozens of times from the red mob, who have joined you in battling every form of resistance whether of official or nonofficial nature, who have bent before no command or terror, do you really think that we would lay down our weapons in exchange for a railroad pass?

_Algernon_ 1y ago

That's no longer a justification once you have algorithmic amplification which Substack introduced with its Twitter immitation. At that point they ceased to just tolerate these ideas but to amplify them. At that point they carry more responsibility, and people rightly blame them for it. Free speech is fine. A private company handing nazis a megaphone and not accepting criticism for it is not.

archagon 1y ago

Should it be the responsibility of a periodical to publish every random Nazi op-ed? (And then send out push notifications for it?) Assholes can self-publish, as always, IMO.

SilverElfin 1y ago
I’m not sure what you mean by “responsibility”. But if thing are published or notified based on content neutral criteria, then it’s fine in my opinion.

slg 1y ago

This is an ironic response to a comment on HN that is being downvoted and soon will be censored by the crowd based flagging and voting system for being "disagreeable".

sofixa 1y ago

> Otherwise you don’t have a real democracy. I don't know how this myth came to be. One would think that the experiences of the Weimar Republic would be enough to learn the lesson. No, a democracy doesn't have to allow forces that literally want to destroy it an equal voice. Fascists and Nazis don't want to be a part of democratic society, they want to abuse it to get power and then dismantle it. As such, it's the duty of real democracies to protect themselves from such malicious actors. Because if they win, everyone loses. And we're seeing this in one of the supposedly more democratic countries, right now - a coup attempt by wannabe fascists was left without consequences, and now fascists are dismantling checks and balances and democratic institutions. An extremely good quote from Nazi Minister of Propaganda on the matter: > “We are an anti-parliamentarian party that for good reasons rejects the Weimar constitution and its republican institutions. We oppose a fake democracy that treats the intelligent and the foolish, the industrious and the lazy, in the same way. We see in the present system of majorities and organized irresponsibility the main cause of our steadily increasing miseries. > So why do we want to be in the Reichstag? > We enter the Reichstag to arm ourselves with the weapons of democracy. If democracy is foolish enough to give us free railway passes and salaries, that is its problem. It does not concern us. Any way of bringing about the revolution is fine by us. > If we succeed in getting sixty or seventy of our party’s agitators and organizers elected to the various parliaments, the state itself will pay for our fighting organization. That is amusing and entertaining enough to be worth trying. > Will we be corrupted by joining parliament? Not likely. Do you think us such miserable revolutionaries that you fear that the thick red carpets and the well-upholstered sleeping halls will make us forget our historical mission? > Is our entry into the Reichstag the beginning of a compromise? Do you really think that we who have stood before you a hundred or a thousand times preaching faith in a new Germany, who have smilingly faced death dozens of times from the red mob, who have joined you in battling every form of resistance whether of official or nonofficial nature, who have bent before no command or terror, do you really think that we would lay down our weapons in exchange for a railroad pass?