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Didn't Google just remove the confederate flag from Shopping Express and ads, not from search results? They don't sell Nazi flags in their store or (afaik) let

by lmartel 11y ago

Didn't Google just remove the confederate flag from Shopping Express and ads, not from search results? They don't sell Nazi flags in their store or (afaik) let people advertise using them, so this doesn't seem as inconsistent to me as you make it sound.

Natsu 11y ago
Yes, and Google is happy to sell you all manner of Nazi items: https://www.google.com/search?q=nazi+swastica&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls={moz:distributionID}:{moz:locale}:{moz:official}&client=firefox#tbm=shop&q=swastika https://www.google.com/search?q=nazi+swastica&ie=utf-8&oe=ut... Not to mention copies of the Mein Kampf, etc. Thankfully, the various non-Nazi uses of the swastika appear to be the most popular, but you can find plenty of Nazi items. I dislike the meaning of both symbols, so I have a hard time imagining any logic where it's okay to sell one of them but not the other.
- SixSigma 11y ago
  9front, a fork of plan9, includes Mein Kampf in the distribution as a kind of trolling canary. We only burn the bad books, right?
- tomjen3 11y ago
  They probably also sell the soviet flag, copies of Das Capital etc. Equally horrible but for the other side. Also side note: reading Mein Kampf doesn't make you a nazi, indeed if more people had read it back in the day somebody might have stooped that little corporal.
- lmartel 11y ago
  Oh, then you're right, this is definitely less okay. I was under the impression that they just stopped delivering them from Walmart (or wherever) via Shopping Express, rather than special-casing the search results. I guess the argument one could make is that the confederate flag is more dangerous and relevant today, but I don't really buy that. Occam's razor suggests this is just an easy PR grab. They get a few headlines in mainstream tech press for free, and very minor backlash from "free speech nutjubs" as the only downside.

by lmartel 11y ago

Natsu 11y ago

Yes, and Google is happy to sell you all manner of Nazi items: https://www.google.com/search?q=nazi+swastica&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls={moz:distributionID}:{moz:locale}:{moz:official}&client=firefox#tbm=shop&q=swastika https://www.google.com/search?q=nazi+swastica&ie=utf-8&oe=ut... Not to mention copies of the Mein Kampf, etc. Thankfully, the various non-Nazi uses of the swastika appear to be the most popular, but you can find plenty of Nazi items. I dislike the meaning of both symbols, so I have a hard time imagining any logic where it's okay to sell one of them but not the other.

SixSigma 11y ago
9front, a fork of plan9, includes Mein Kampf in the distribution as a kind of trolling canary. We only burn the bad books, right?
tomjen3 11y ago
They probably also sell the soviet flag, copies of Das Capital etc. Equally horrible but for the other side. Also side note: reading Mein Kampf doesn't make you a nazi, indeed if more people had read it back in the day somebody might have stooped that little corporal.
lmartel 11y ago
Oh, then you're right, this is definitely less okay. I was under the impression that they just stopped delivering them from Walmart (or wherever) via Shopping Express, rather than special-casing the search results. I guess the argument one could make is that the confederate flag is more dangerous and relevant today, but I don't really buy that. Occam's razor suggests this is just an easy PR grab. They get a few headlines in mainstream tech press for free, and very minor backlash from "free speech nutjubs" as the only downside.