Comment by k__
9 years ago
I Akujin is right. Often I have the feeling we moved from the left-right spectrum to a triangle, where the "middle" from before has become its own extreme, that is touting the "free speech for Nazis" over and over again most because they fear of taking any sides.
I haven't heard any touting from the middle in support of any agenda. But the free marketplace of ideas doesn't work if there are exceptions. Dumb ideas should be loud and clear so everyone has the opportunity to hear how dumb they are. If you think an idea is so dangerous that just being heard will convert people, then I think you should be concerned about how you feel about that idea.
I really think BLM supporters, for example, fear this white-supremacy propaganda because it's so similar to their own tactics and agenda. Their goal is to sweep across the country by taking hold of the narrative, so they think this garbage has the potential to sweep the country too. But the average person is at work and paying bills, trying to live a peaceful life, and sees all this stupidity for what it is.
I don't think the tolerance of intolerance is the way.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DHaIFwbV0AEDV8u.jpg:large
That's a nice infographic and all, but we're not talking about that level of tolerance. Tolerance of a website that has some words and pictures on it, or tolerating someone saying something you disagree with on a college campus, is a lot different than tolerance of Germany invading Poland. We have laws against violence, harassment, and even defaming in some areas that cover when these things go past just talk. At that point everyone is onboard with enforcement because it's gone too far.
Again I'll provide a real example of how hard it is to draw a line : is discussing the number of casualties resulting from the Nazi agenda during WW2 (discussion which you can for an example find in this precise thread) considered pro-nazi or not ?
Should this discussion be shut down ? Some people are convinced that discussing a number is just the foreshadow of radical negationism and therefore should be banned speech.
These are (in my opinion) really hard questions.