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Substack co-founder: "What if we kissed at the Nazi bar?" (substack.com)

submitted 10 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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The day just isn't complete without a tiresome retread of freeze peach rhetorical tropes. Oh, it's "important to engage with and understand" white supremacy. That's why we need to boost the voices of white supremacists! And give them money!

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[–] [email protected] 29 points 10 months ago (2 children)

What fucking data do they show that deplatforming and demonetizing makes extremist views worse?

we don't think that censorship (including through demonetizing publications) makes the problem go away—in fact, it makes it worse

Last I remember, actively demonetizing fringe views like Alex Jones damn near killed their reach. And quarantining on Reddit completely nuked organic reach which was, for a long time, how crazy shit was reaching people.

history shows that censorship is most potently used by the powerful to silence the powerless

In what fucking world do the powerful care about the powerless nazis. What fucking world. Didn’t we fucking fight a world war about this. It’s really fucking cliche to say but holy fuck why the fuck would the powerful ever care about censoring the powerless nazis.

I think it’s important to engage with and understand a range of views even if—especially if—you disagree with them

Shit dude the owner of Substack is not engaging with my view that he’s a fucking witless dishcloth. Kinda hypocritical amirite

[–] ArbiterXero 22 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The idea that removing someone’s platform makes things worse is just insane.

It’s not silencing them, it’s just removing their reach to spread their horseshit.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 10 months ago (2 children)

It’s not even removing someone’s platform when they’re using your platform to spread their message. Cutting off their internet? That’s deplatforming. Throttling their bandwidth? That’s fucking with their access to utilities (internet should be a utility). Kicking them off your privately-owned site they don’t have a majority ownership stake in? If that’s deplatforming you’re admitting your platform is all about the Nazis.

I do not understand these mental gymnastics tech bros go through.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm not sure when deplatforming became a dirty word in the first place. Freedom of speech doesn't entitle anyone to a platform. It's not a crime to express whatever views you have, but you may need to bring your own soapbox.

Or maybe deplatforming is bad and an affront to freedom of expression. If that is the case, I will let you know on the next episode of Joe Rogan. If I'm not invited, consider me silenced by the cancel culture mob.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 10 months ago

I’m not sure when deplatforming became a dirty word in the first place.

when it started happening to these guys, duh

[–] [email protected] 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm fully in favor of kicking nazis off of wherever specifically because doing so is censorship, deplatforming, etc, so gotta disagree with you there

[–] [email protected] 9 points 10 months ago

It sounds like we only disagree on the specific word we use to describe the act of removing someone from a website so that’s an okay disagreement!