IMPORTANT: Some guidelines for the discussion of anti-semitism and hate
Moriarty | 2007-02-23 05:44
It's probably best to lay down some guidelines for conduct in this new forum before it takes on a life of its own. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
- Anti-semitism is the most widespread form of hatred in woo-woo circles, but we should be careful not to limit ourselves to discussing it. Lots of other forms of hate manifest themselves in other areas. Homophobia is present in many conspiracy theories about "secret homosexual prostitution rings", and a lot of Scientologist "thought". And there is plenty of conventional racism - for instance, the "cavemen/19 Arabs could never ..." meme that recurs in Troofer circles.
- Please distinguish between posters and posts. A lot of the examples cited here will consist of someone saying something hateful on an internet message board. Often, that will take the form of linking to a hate site. But just because a poster has linked to a hate site, it does not necessarily mean that they themselves are bigots - they could just be very stupid. Often this will not be the case - but stop and think.
- Bigotry of any form is a serious accusation to make about someone, even if they are just an anonymous username on a discussion board. Remember that. And remember that it can be a quick way to invite scrutiny of one's own record.
- Civility between posters should be a given throughout NG, but must be stressed again here. Hatred and prejudice are emotive topics. By all means disagree and debate - but keep it civil.
Thank you.
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Psychobabbler | 2007-02-23 12:04 |
Thanks for reminder!
It's one I need at DU at times - I've flamed people a couple of times for virulently anti-semitic posts. Not just linking to sites; but the two occasions were when people accused Joe Lieberman (whom I thoroughly detest, by the way!) of being loyal to Israel instead of the USA, and in the second case of 'sending Christians to war'. I should probably have alerted, rather than flaming the person myself; but I just saw red and told him to take his anti-semitic, Christian right, filth off a liberal board.
It's noticeable incidentally that there seems to be a definite correlation on DU, and probably in the real world, between anti-semitic conspiracy theories, anti-medical-establishment conspiracy theories and the more bizarre 9-11 theories.
Behind_the_Aegis | 2007-02-23 18:35 | We all need a reminder from time to time.
Sometimes, I just have to step away because it makes my head spin. Like you, I am no fan of Lieberman, despite his usually liberal stance on most social issues, but when I see shit like this:
Lieberman should NOT join the repukes
He should just skip the posturing and join Likud directly.
...it just gets OLD! What gets even more old is the lack of knowledge about Israel, just the kneejerk 'hate' responses. The problem is that more and more anti-Semitic rhetoric is being introduced by "progressives" and, in some cases, Jews. It is really easy to critize Israel because, G-d (or whomever, or no one) knows, they provide enough fodder and mistakes. But, when I see versions of the "Protocols" being used with the word "Israel" in place of "Jews," it gets very frustrating.
Anti-Semitism is here to stay, sadly. I posted a thread at DU in the Jewish forum that cobines three articles about the recent rise in anti-Semitism around the world, and it just seems to be getting worse.
tng | 2007-02-23 12:29 |
Thanks Moriarty
That's a good set of guidelines to keep in mind when posting on this topic.
I just want to add too that I would prefer not to see this forum become just a running extended bitch and moan session. There's a decided value to that in terms of blowing of steam and exposing bigotry but I'd also like to see posters here put forth positive suggestions for dealing with hate both online and in the real world.
And of course, anyone who is unable to abide by the general guidelines here will be summarily banned from this site. This is not a democracy.
procrastinate later | 2007-02-23 14:19 |
Excellent guidelines
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