For the next act we'll censor images of the pyramids of Egypt, which were constructed by slave labor. And then we'll ban texts of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which was influenced by an enlightenment thinker, Voltaire, who also supported the slave trade. And for our next act we'll ban images of Washington, D.C. with its columns and white marble, which glorifies Roman slave-owning society.
MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
271–280 of 870 posts
Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
#272While it's emotionally pleasing to see racists being kicked out of online platforms, another side of me feels wary of these tactics. For starters, being deplatformed from major online players today would have serious consequences. Although it's true that these platforms are "private property," the entire society has become too reliant on them to be seen that way. I think it's dangerous when platforms function like a…
I want all controversial views to be deplatformed, because I don't see any other way that people will care enough about centralization to actually change.
Accelerationism doesn’t work, and never has.
Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
#273Earlier quoted context omitted.
The rising sun flag was adopted before the turn of the century many years before the war. The confederate and nazi flags were used explicitly for those hateful movements (post civil war racism and nazis). These are quite different.
While it's true that it was adopted in 1870, it was adopted as the war flag of the Imperial Japanese Army. The same one that committed horrific atrocities to Korea and China. Then it stopped being used after Japan surrendered in WWII. To many Koreans (and likely Chinese) the wartime version of the rising sun flag is exactly the same as the Nazi flag if not worse. The anglosphere tends to gloss over the brutal behavio…
A line has to be drawn somewhere.
The swastika was a very popular symbol, and remains popular outside nazis. The swastika shouldn't (and really can't) be banned, but the Nazi usage of it should be.
The confederate flag had a bunch of variants and the popular version seen today was only used after as a symbol of hate. Should be banned.
The rising sun flag is just one variation of a couple themes used throughout Japanese history and it was used in a non-imperialist setting for hundreds of years since the Edo period. Its in the fuzzy place where most flags lie.
You can argue for the banning of that flag for those atrocities, but why stop there? Are you going to ignore the countless indigenous peoples who suffered under the American flag or all the colonialism done under the union jack? What about the Turkish flag which flew during the genocide they committed and still flies today. What you're essentially arguing for is banning all flags related to some kind of atrocity. That's most flags.
Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
#274For the next act we'll censor images of the pyramids of Egypt, which were constructed by slave labor. And then we'll ban texts of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which was influenced by an enlightenment thinker, Voltaire, who also supported the slave trade. And for our next act we'll ban images of Washington, D.C. with its columns and white marble, which glorifies Roman slave-owning society.
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Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
#275For the next act we'll censor images of the pyramids of Egypt, which were constructed by slave labor. And then we'll ban texts of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which was influenced by an enlightenment thinker, Voltaire, who also supported the slave trade. And for our next act we'll ban images of Washington, D.C. with its columns and white marble, which glorifies Roman slave-owning society.
I like how your slippery slope argument (itself a fallacy) kicks off with the fallacy that the pyramids were constructed by slave labor.
Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
#276Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Swastika is a sacred symbol in Hinduism. The original inspiration for Hitler was hooked cross. No, the inspiration was the Indian swastika. Same reason he wanted to call himself "Aryan". (The swastika is also a sacred symbol in Buddhism, for reference. One day someone will petition to have 卐 removed from the relevant Chinese Unicode block.)
The swastika was also in use in the west in the early 20th century before the Nazis came to power. One example of this can be seen painted on the inside of the nosecone of the Spirit of Saint Louis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Spirit_of_St._Louis_Nose_... (It should probably be noted that the Spirit of Saint Louis was flown by Charles Lindbergh, who is generally thought to have been a Nazi sympathizer a bit la…
And by plains indians before that.
I saw the Corn Palace in South Dakota one year, and it was decorated with traditional local indian symbols, including the swastika.
Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
#277Earlier quoted context omitted.
The NYT opinion page is hardly a barometer of broad public consensus— see the recent scandal of the Tom Cotton "send in the military" piece.
I'm not sure I follow. Opinion polls at the time showed that a significant majority of the public wanted the military sent in.
Most of the coverage I saw was people horrified at the constitutional implications of the military being turned on US citizens, on US soil, by order of the president.
Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
#278For the next act we'll censor images of the pyramids of Egypt, which were constructed by slave labor. And then we'll ban texts of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which was influenced by an enlightenment thinker, Voltaire, who also supported the slave trade. And for our next act we'll ban images of Washington, D.C. with its columns and white marble, which glorifies Roman slave-owning society.
The sole cause of the confederacy was defending the right for white men to own black slaves.
All those other things were not solely about defending slavery.
Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
#279Honest question. For those of you happy that these censorship policies are being implemented by companies in reaction to pressure, do you believe that the ideal end-goal would be 'anti hate speech' laws like those of Germany?
No. It’s apples and oranges. Companies should be free to regulate hate speech on their platforms. The government should not regulate speech in the public domain. The actions of private companies on private property (virtual or otherwise) are an entirely different domain than government intervention. Even if you remove the censorship angle, it can be argued that moderating hate speech is simply good business sense. Pe…
> The actions of private companies on private property (virtual or otherwise) are an entirely different domain than government intervention.
And yet, private businesses are subject to certain restrictions. For example, it is illegal to refuse service based on one's race or sex. I am not sure if companies are allowed to discriminate based on one's political views.
Re: MS will ban Forza players who add the confederate flag to their digital cars
#280While it's emotionally pleasing to see racists being kicked out of online platforms, another side of me feels wary of these tactics. For starters, being deplatformed from major online players today would have serious consequences. Although it's true that these platforms are "private property," the entire society has become too reliant on them to be seen that way. I think it's dangerous when platforms function like a…
I assume Microsoft never allowed, say, swastikas. There's no reasonable expectation that you are able to spread racist propaganda in a car racing game (or for that matter in an actual car race; I think those tend to have very strict rules around decoration).
I can see an _argument_ that Twitter, say, should be forced to pander to racists. I don't buy that argument, mind you, but I can at least see the thought process. I can't see any reason that imaginary car livery should have to, though.