Yet another casualty of blue checkmarks identifying a systemic issue and then using it to go after individuals while actually defending the system.
Cancel We The Web? (2020)
61–70 of 280 posts
Re: Cancel We The Web? (2020)
#62> Luckily, another co-author on the book has spent a lot of time pondering inclusion, women’s rights, children’s rights, and free speech. Her name is Nadine Strossen and her credentials run deep. She served as the first female President of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), America’s largest and oldest civil liberties nonprofit, from 1991 to 2008. When she stepped down as President, three Supreme Court Justic…
It shouldn't be, but it surely helps to not be eaten by piranhas immediately. Somebody without this kind of shield - especially somebody, say, having a misfortune of being a male and of European descent - might be. I personally have been told many times that I do not get to have opinion about cancel culture and ideology because of my identity. Having credentials that even PC zealots can't deny surely helps to make it harder to dismiss her.
Re: Cancel We The Web? (2020)
#63Earlier quoted context omitted.
That's a fascinating take, but I don't think it's particularly related to what actually happened. I wasn't toxic because of some Microsoft FUD, I was toxic because I was a teenager with low empathy who hadn't learned things yet. I grew out of it. Lots of people in open source were never particularly toxic, and there's no reason they should have been. Even granting the existence of the external stress (and it really w…
>I was toxic because I was a teenager with low empathy who hadn't learned things yet. I grew out of it. Participation in political mobs can serve as a surrogate replacement for empathy. A change in political allegiance is far easier to enact in an individual than a change in personality.
Would you agree then that participating in the 'anti-anti' mobs is also a possible form of feigned 'empathy'?
Re: Cancel We The Web? (2020)
#64Well worth reading. Lucid, clear. Didnt make me like Stallman more, but articulated some of the issues well. On the whole, I think the cancel/trigger thing has got out of hand. People need to be accountable for what they say, not what people believe they think.
Stallman clearly has issues as many have attested. But reading these specific excerpts of his now... they just read like tone-deaf pedantry. Sarah Mei's response to someone else who pointed this out in a leveled, non-confrontational manner, of > That means you are also racist, misogynist, and a colonial apologist. Nice job just comes off as needlessly toxic escalation intended to shut down dialogue. I have several au…
I think its because the point is not understanding - the point is gaining power, in this case - power over who leads the OSS movement. If you want to use one's words against them, you do not look for understanding, you look for maximally uncharitable and hurtful meaning possible, and declare this is the only meaning that matters. That's why political activists do it - because it gives them power.
Re: Cancel We The Web? (2020)
#65Wasn't part of the issue with Stallman that his behavior, not just his ideas, were problematic. Like telling a college freshman that he'd kill himself if she didn't go out with him: https://daringfireball.net/2019/09/richard_stallmans_disgrac...
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Re: Cancel We The Web? (2020)
#66Individuals get canceled when their support dries up from those would previously have offered them funding and employment. How then does one go about avoiding cancel culture?
Simple. You just avoid cancel culture. Anyone who claims to support BLM or ActBlue or any liberal politician who has support cancel culture in the past should be avoided with extreme prejudice. These organizations actively fight free speech and routinely bully others into silence. If you want to avoid getting canceled, all you have to do is cancel them back. Stop listening and supporting anyone who would wantonly wield their influence to shut down others. Corporations exist to perform jobs. They should not have consciences or wield power - those roles are what we invented government for.
Re: Cancel We The Web? (2020)
#67Ms. Strossen's response is actually quite well argued and uses principles of mainstream American Liberalism that cannot be dropped without significant modification to the school of thought itself.
Anyway, no one is stupid enough to talk about lots of interesting problems in public anymore. The Internet isn't a safe place to do so. That's okay.
But I wonder if there is a safe way with a discovery medium built in. Maybe Reddit since the anonymity keeps you safe and you can discuss on each topic as a different identity.
Re: Cancel We The Web? (2020)
#68I was canceled on Twitter last year. Hundreds of people were harassed for being associated with me, my social circles were ripped to shreds, and I feared for my safety. I got into right wing shitposting and logs from a small private chat group were leaked. It was one of the worst experiences of my life and I haven’t recovered. They feel like they’ve made the world a better place.
Have you ever pondered if your 'shit posting' led to other people being harassed and led them to question their safety?
Re: Cancel We The Web? (2020)
#69Wasn't part of the issue with Stallman that his behavior, not just his ideas, were problematic. Like telling a college freshman that he'd kill himself if she didn't go out with him: https://daringfireball.net/2019/09/richard_stallmans_disgrac...
I kinda feel like I'm giving the benefit of the doubt by disregarding that side of the argument. The linked article argues that everyone should avoid Stallman because he's smelly and rude and ate his toe jam one time - this is schoolyard bullying, not a serious argument.
Re: Cancel We The Web? (2020)
#70> Sarah Mei then went through the board members involved one by one, digging into each of their histories, and tweeting what she viewed as fire-worthy infractions. What a [negative adjective removed at moderator's request] human being. Worst of all, she probably views her activity as a worthy contribution to society.
Careful now, the world missed out on all of her genius open source in the 90s, and are obviously much worse off.