Posted on 02/11/2005 10:55:36 AM PST by Jim Robinson
The shot heard around the Internet has been fired on FreeRepublic.com The owner Jim Robinson and his moderators have launched a sniper style purge against members that disagree with the President’s ‘guest worker’ amnesty or support more control of illegal immigration. Free Republic is an amazing tool for those looking for a good debate and news from around the country.
The problem for the administration of the site is that their creation is allowing the participants to learn that the Bush immigration record and plans are shockingly out of line with the views of most conservatives. The management’s answer to this conflict between the majority of conservatives and the influence of the White House on their Web site has become electronic executions and censorship.
Members and readers of Free Republic would be surprised to know that many members of their community have fallen silent on the discussions about illegal immigration lately because free speech is an illusion on FR.com. They are silent because they have been banned from the Web site without warning, cause, or explanation in most cases. For weeks the moderators have been suspending and banning new members that chimed in quickly on the immigration debates.
Now this trend has broadened as the first groups of long-term users were suspended or banned this past week. Although Robinson and his staff removed many members of the Free Republic community in the first few days of the purge, those that religiously support President Bush’s immigration plan, open borders and approve of public benefits for illegal aliens remain on the forum. Those that were banned were the members that wanted more done to control illegal immigration and a strict observance to the President’s Oath of Office.
RKBA Democrat:
Yes, Mr. Robinson and his moderators may zot who they like for FreeRepublic.com is a business and private property. That being said, I tried to make it clear in my article that most Freepers do not approve of guest worker and do not approve of Mr. Robinson or his moderators taking people off the site without cause or explanation especially when the majority here agrees with those posters. This is information that Freepers would like to know because it's rare that you see someone actually zotted.
William
Well good luck to you sir. I do wish you well.
Wow, I didn't know we had a right to free speech on FR.
We're not going to rev up the hits on your site. You're not the first to try that here.
Sheesh! These people need their diapers changed!
I'll take your word for it on Rense until I check it out myself. However, most stuff on VDARE is OK. Radical sometimes, but OK. I'm not a frequent user of VDARE, but I've seen very little there, the times I've been there, that should cause much concern.
Actually, I believe your "Last" account was "Cantankerous" and you were sending out Freepmails today, soliciting people to your site.
If all, most or even many dissentors were purged, I'de have been banned a long time ago.
Of course, they're the ones still here. :-)
You get a fair flavor of the kind of people who are banned from FR by checking out the Biker Bar on TOS. It's like walking into an insane asylum when lunch is two hours late.
Diva Betsy Ross:
Well apparently you can get banned for posting material from a host of authors and other websites that are NOT stormfront. Now such list of authors or websites are listed in the FR rules. I posted a piece by Frosty Woolridge that ran on News with Views. When I sent an email politely asking why the thread was pulled so I could avoid the mistake in the future.
Bam I was zotted. I put the details up here.
http://www.alipac.us/ftopict-244.html
William
Free Republic Opinion Poll: After hearing President Bush's speech, do you approve of his immigration reform plan?
| Composite Opinion | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| No | 68.0% |   |
2,322 |
| Yes | 21.0% | |
718 |
| Undecided | 11.0% | |
376 |
| 100.0% | 3,416 | ||
| Member Opinion | |||
| No | 67.9% | |
2,302 |
| Yes | 21.1% | |
715 |
| Undecided | 11.0% | |
374 |
| 100.0% | 3,391 | ||
| Non-Member Opinion | |||
| No | 80.0% | |
20 |
| Yes | 12.0% | |
3 |
| Undecided | 8.0% | |
2 |
| 100.0% | 25 | ||
Yes indeedee...I have to also agree with cake_crumb. People whine to get others to hit their site.
No way. I am loyal to FR!!!
two points...
1) Censorship is when the gov't won't let you say what you wish. Private ownership allows you to tolerate, or NOT tolerate, anything JimRob wants. Someday oughta get these lamebrains a copy of the Constitution.
2) REAL conservatives don't WHINE.
nuff said.
"We're not going to rev up the hits on your site. You're not the first to try that here."
Bingo. The first post about bannings was nothing but an ad for Gheen's site. I clicked Abuse immediately, and it was gone before almost anyone saw it.
Pimping web sites is not the function of posts on FR, as far as I understand the rules.
there are a few of us, actually way more than a few, who were and are supporting Bush on his Worker visa proposal and more so a total revamp of immigration policy.
None of us, including the most vocal like Dane or Bayou support open borders, but that does not mean squat to you or folk like you who descend like vultures on us if we dare to indicate support.
As a result, I have shunned the immigration threads as a total waste of time and a dangerous place to express a opinion.
But that was not good enough. immigration disrupter's began showing up on any thread with Bush's name on it or any other policy discussion having nothing whatsoever to do with immigration.
And it continued on until tempers were laid bare.
So a few get their posting privileges popped for supporting disruptive ideas and dangerous actions as well as assaults on personal integrity and you complain that you have no clue what rule or rules you violated to deserve such treatment.
That about sum it up?
I am for a big wall and an expanded, authorized border guard (read: US Military or National Guard). But I am also for expanded temporary worker permits to meet our economic needs. I also oppose amnesty. Return the illegals and let them get back into line (a line that should be expedited for everyone - subject to stringent security, crime and disease checking).
But there are, from my viewpoint at least, some far out comments on other topics posted here on occasion so I think the expectation is that this is a free speech zone (although certainly the owner should be able to guard against a group hijacking his site). The policy on prohibited postings should be posted so people know the rules up front.
If I cannot post my views, please ban me. (You don't have to warn me, I'll keep checking.)
Mr. Gheen, for the record, I was not only an active participant on the thread where Vdare was banned, I personally recommended to JimRob that he do so. Vdare often mixes legitimate discussion of immigration issues with putrid, racist bigotry. And I have absolutely no desire to be associated with that trash.
Naturally, I can't speak to all the other anecdotal incidents that you raise, but don't EVER utilize Vdare as an example of unfair treatment. IMHO, that alone is sufficient to destroy any credibility that you may have.
"Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it, wherever found, against the wrong."
~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1916
Just checking - guess it takes some time to be banned.
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