Comment by thinkfurther
9 years ago
Sunlight in this case would be doing for Nazis what they themselves won't do because they're unable -- recognize them for who they are and act accordingly.
> In the echo chamber of extremism, there is now no moderating thought
This is not how any of this works.
We are NOT fighting the people here, we're fighting the ideas. I don't think we should ever forget this.
We're absolutely fighting people. There was a man behind the wheel of that car, you know - it wasn't an abstract idea that drove it into the crowd.
I agree, so take action against that specific man, and take action because he was responsible for an act of violence.
If ten people standing in a row have an idea, you cannot destroy the idea by shooting all of them in the head.
If one of them causes violence, you should not shoot all of them in retaliation.
What would be your judgement if this radical group was just sitting away in their homes typing out blog posts? Would you still censor them?
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You too should read this:
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15014737
I forgot nothing, I'd rather say I know things you haven't yet understood.
Thanks for these choice quotes.
I completely agree for the need for boundaries, but I think we've done a most excellent job of setting them!
The current boundary is speech that immediately incites violence, I believe the supreme court interpretation has been very generous towards the notion of free speech, including hate speech, as it should be!
Here's why:
We should let the radicals be racist and make radical statements as much as they want. At the point at which they turn violent or call for specific acts of violence we should step in and shut that stuff down.
A blanket militant action against the whole ideology will no doubt show better results on shutting down the movement on a short term.
But the notion of freedom of speech is not meant to protect these radicals, it is meant to protect ourselves and the integrity of society! We cannot make exceptions to these rules just because it's more convenient to us now, because this weakens the principle. This is the whole slippery slope argument.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
If you wish to change the lines on which we use force, you must make a coherent case based on principle, not on convenience or anecdotes, as the principles themselves already account for, in a deep way, the history to which you allude.
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