cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/13958637
this post was submitted on 06 Oct 2024
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This only applies though if the bigot or their apologist is willing to have an honest discussion with good intentions. The problem with tolerating them is that they do not have any respect for truth, or in having an honest discussion. Engaging with that is beyond pointless as the best it serves is to show people that already understand it to be bad that it is bad. And at worst it will confuse someone who doesn't understand or reason well into siding with bigotry.
All this discussion of "well people should know and be able to reason" falls flat when you look at examples around the world where intolerant bigots were tolerated. The US and Germany are two examples I can think of off the top of my head. The US has a felon, fascist, wannabe dictator as one option and he has an honest chance of winning. Then in Germany they are having essentially a resurgence of the Nazi party in AfD and it's been gaining traction, particularly in eastern states from what I've read.
Bigotry and hatred don't need a platform. They do fine on their own. Giving them shelter only creates issues. You don't need to see their arguments because their arguments don't come from reason but from spite and they have no intention of fair engagement.
I would argue that both cases are products of echo chambers rather than insufficient moderation.
I mean, those bigots don't silence themselves when you ban them. They are still talking, just in forums that will ban you for daring to rebut them.
Because censorship creates the echo chambers that allow bigotry to thrive, censorship is a much greater problem than bigotry.