36 upvotes, 2 direct replies (showing 2)
View submission: [Updated] Who runs /r/Holocaust? Each line represents a moderator overlap. [OC]
"It's not like they're hurting anyone" is not the greatest argument when it comes to racists and anti-semites. While I strongly believe they're not capable of planning the second holocaust, promoting a disbelief in the suffering of a minority, a promotion of an us-or-them mentality, and a vehement hatred toward the other group is not exactly unheard of historically speaking.
Also is that the community that Reddit was designed to foster? Seriously, the "no damage" argument works to an extent but Reddit is hosting their sorry asses, what does Reddit owe them? I'm not saying I've got the answer to that question, I'm saying it's a question that ought to be asked.
Comment by Mysterius at 23/07/2014 at 10:06 UTC
-1 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I tend to think of reddit as a platform for many little communities (subreddits), linked to each other by greater or lesser degrees, rather than a single strongly coherent community (though there are definitely some views that are relatively popular and tend to be espoused by the "voice" of reddit). Just putting that out there, so you can see where my point of view is.
It's not just a question of what reddit "owes" them: with free speech, it's also a question of where you draw the line. Every time we squelch someone else's reprehensible opinion, we increase the pressure to censor other similarly (or a tiny bit less) disagreeable opinions. First they came for they came for the Nazis... (and yes, I'm aware of the irony)
We all draw the line somewhere, with authoritarian regimes on one end of the spectrum and more liberal states on the other, but even among relatively free states there exists a range of attitudes. If reddit were based in a country where the law prohibits denial of the Holocaust, it seems likely that the admins would be forced to clamp down. However, it is not, and so that's one less topic that the reddit admins must censor.
It would be quite possible to draw the line elsewhere, as the existence and even productivity of more restrictive discussion boards (and entire national cultures) demonstrate. But personally, I'm glad that reddit is as cautious about restricting free discourse as it is, despite frustrations with subreddit hijacking (such as in this case). We aren't all so lucky as to always hold views with majority (or even large minority) support; while I don't hold any views that would attract nearly so much opprobrium, it's nice that even niche views can find a subreddit and attract subscribers on reddit.
Comment by bobes_momo at 23/07/2014 at 16:57 UTC
-8 upvotes, 1 direct replies
I don't even care anymore. Israel can go fuck themselves with a nuclear cock for what they are doing to the Palestinians