It's interesting in that they know this idea is so divisive and unpopular that they have to prevent the possibility for people to directly respond to it. This

It's interesting in that they know this idea is so divisive and unpopular that they have to prevent the possibility for people to directly respond to it. This isn't about preventing some racist trolls from saying a few sarcastic "Thanks Obama" comments and to make a few jokes about black people. That happens in any long comment thread that's even closely related to race - and those comments are always down voted and criticized. What's more interesting to me now is that the "Comments are now closed" box is itself missing. So they're so insecure that they can't even let people know that they're being censored. Some frank discussions of slavery and race and all associated factors of American history are warranted. I can praise them for speaking about this issue (even if I disagree with many of their ideas and conclusions) but I have to be critical of The Atlantic for not allowing this discussion.