Banning hate?

May 17, 2005 · Comments

From [Blog Herald](http://www.blogherald.com/2005/05/16/sixapart-attacked-over-hate-speech/):

>Blog company SixApart is under fire following attempts by a Jewish blogger to have a user banned from TypePad after posting anti-semetic remarks on his blog.

A blogger [asked](http://www.richardsilverstein.com/tikun_olam/2005/05/typepad_condone.html) Six Apart (developers and hosts of his blog at [TypePad](http://www.typepad.com)) to globally ban a commenter who had made multiple vile, anti-semetic comment entries on his blog.

I read and re-read his post, and the comments. And I have to be honest here…I agree with 6A. As a Jew and a human being, it’s painful. I don’t like reading what the commenter has to say. But 6A is right when they say “These types of things are taken care of at a site-level, that’s why we give you the tools to make that happen.” The commenter never made a specific threat (that I could assertain). There’s a difference between saying, “I wish you were dead” and “I will kill you.” One is the expression of an opinion, the other is a threat.

If you write on a controversial topic (such as religion or politics), you have to expect some thorns thrown your way. I see it coming when I post about gay marriage (which I support) or NCLB (which I don’t). If the opposition writes in such a way that it’s difficult for you to read and you don’t want to be a platform to spread their message, you have the option to turn comments off or edit comments on a post by post basis. You can even take your toys and go play somewhere else. That’s the beauty of blogs…your house, your rules. 6A is walking a slippery slope if they start banning based on content. What if I post about NCLB and someone who strongly believes that Bush’s education policy is the greatest thing? Should I be banned from posting on all blogs based on my opinion, however offensive it may be to some? Remember, I’m not talking about threats or statements of illegal action. Someone can have the opinion that genocide is a good thing. I may disagree, I may shout at the top of my voice against what they are saying and what they believe. I certainly wouldn’t let this blog serve as a platform for that person to spread their opinion. But I wouldn’t ask for or expect a global ban.

This all goes back to why I think “moral values” [is a scary](http://www.momathome.com/viewfromhome/life/why_am_i_scared.php) platform to hang a country’s politics on. It’s not easy to stand your ground while at the same time allowing everything that turns your stomach to stand their ground too. What if the authority figure that you think you trust to do the right thing decides that *you’re* the one that has to go based on your opinion? Better to never give them that power to begin with.

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