Posted on 08/16/2007 7:56:17 PM PDT by crusher
I was listening to the news out of the corner of my ear when I heard FreeRepublic specifically mentioned as a "hate site" about fifteen minutes ago.
Ostensibly the long report was about the Klan using the web to recruit new wackos. Then the focus turned to Casa Maryland, and their director who claimed that calls for his murder had circulated on the internet by anti-immigrant bigots. It was then that the anchor identified FR by name as a hate site.
“As I recall, Sasquatch Reno referred to the NRA as a hate group.”
It’s the newest Leftist minimalization du jour...
Anybody that stands in your way is a “Hate Group”, so you can ignore, brush off, or minimalize what they say.
Christians are a “Hate Group” because they oppose gays.
The NRA is a “Hate Group” because the oppose the “Sensible” confiscation of weapons.
Etc,etc...
I think you get the point.
Did Anti-Bubba182 just discover another media fake?...
Seriously.
Are the alleged Freerepublic posts, fakes?
I gotta get my replies up;)
I could see it coming back in 1982 when I was 7 or 8 years old. I was over at my friend's house to play, and in casual stupid-kid conversation I mentioned that I hated someone. I don't remember who I was talking about. I just remember how little that statement meant to me. It wasn't a raw, seething hatred rising to a boil. I was probably talking about someone from school who smelled funny—I didn't mean much by it at all. Yet, after I said that, my friend's mother descended on me like a hawk, looked deep into my eyes and said, "Joe, you don't hate ANYBODY. You didn't mean that." But I did mean that, by my definition of the word; and now I hated her as well.
Now it seems that whatever crazy definition of "hate" she was operating under has become the national standard. How did the chasm between "dislike" and "hate" grow to be so huge? There are plenty of other words to indicate extreme dislike ("despise", "abhor", "loathe" come to mind), so why has "hate" been given Hitlerian stature? It now not only indicates dislike, but for many it implies bigotry and probably intent to kill as well. At the time of this writing, a Google search on "hate" brings up anti-racism websites as the top four results. Many times I have found myself in the following exchange:
ME: "He sucks. I hate him."
RANDOM IDIOT: "Really? I don't hate anybody."
The "I don't hate anybody" people are immediately added to the list of people I hate. I don't know if it's their smug arrogance or the sheer dishonesty that bugs me more. Or maybe it's the fact that they're a different color than I am and I plan on killing them.
It doesn’t strike me as much different than gay-rights activists calling Christians who preach homosexuality as immoral as “haters”. One way to marginalize someone (read: KEEP PEOPLE FROM LISTENING TO THEM) is to label them haters.
The reason we are all here is that there is a common thread that makes us “conservative”, in our own particular personal flavor. Speaking for myself, if there is ONE thing I want to see in my lifetime, it’s to see Socialism so utterly discredited that people who preach it, whether openly or indirectly, are viewed with the same contempt as the most ruthless totalitarian Nazi. Now, having said this, I’m sure some latte-sipping leftist will brand me a HATER in 5...4...3...2...
All I can say is, to the leftists out there, hit me with your best shot. When the leftists want to try to bring Socialism about in the world, I’ll be right there standing in their way—and they can call me whatever the heck they want.
you and I have tangled briefly once before. I agree with your comment of responsibility, but when free speech is set upon as being trivial, then the Republic suffers. The democrat left has always desired to shut this site up. For a time this site would have shut me up, as soon as I walked in with the 'nick' I have, but I am not a racist and to my knowledge you have never called me a racist. Free Republic is not a racist site, you should know that. Free Republic is an expression of ideas based in Conservatism, where the author of one's posts belongs to the author. Nothing more, nothing less.
You have been here much longer than I. Should you not promote rather than denigrate the site you visit? Perhaps you do, but I am dismayed you believe there are Klansmen, or those sounding like Klansmen on this site. I have witnessed none of those of ill repute. Perhaps you were here on a day Robert Byrd posted, and was banned?
Then I could understand your concern......
May Peace be upon you, FRiend, and may Free Republic continue to fight what is wrong in our world. If one refuses to fight, one surrenders. I do not wave a white flag as the democrats are doing while our Son and Daughters of this Republic are at War!
I have no say in the affairs of Free Republic. I desire none. The moderators do an excellent job. This site should never change to please the left wing democrats. The left has to understand. There is a War to be won. I pray Free Republic will continue the fight, for fighting the good fight will always bring rewards......mho
I think that is exactly what happened.
Lets not forget out there in the west this was a shocking story
Ms. Gomez’s sons — Rodolfo Godinez, 24, and his 16-year-old half brother — were still being sought by the police yesterday in the close-range shootings that killed three young people and wounded a fourth at a playground at the Mount Vernon School on Aug. 4...Three people have been arrested in the shootings: Jose Lachira Carranza, 28, and two teenagers...authorities were seeking a sixth person...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1880604/posts
Powder Keg comes up with a search such as this:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&safe=off&q=huge+powderkeg+site%3Afreerepublic.com&btnG=Search
Any site that is not leftist can be spun to be a "hate site", because we have allowed leftists to redefine what hate is.
The abuse button is generally used to keep this site free of posts that are just unacceptable, of course the moderators and owner have the final say as to what is unacceptable, the abuse button is only able to bring their attention to a particular post. When used properly it is to protect the overall site integrity, not to settle scores or “tattle” per say. In my opinion it is what keeps this site civilized as opposed to some sites that are chaos.
Very well said, BTW.
NO profanity, NO personal attacks, NO racism or violence in posts.
Let’s take a breath... relax...
And like Freepers, let’s find out what posts they’re pointing to, and address them one by one. I’m sure that if they’re fake but accurate (grins) then we’ll have a holiday pointing that out. If they’re taken out of context, we’ll have our backers. If we need to re-examine the rules here, we’ll do that too.
[[Mitt Romney related threads almost always have anti-Mormon bigotry.]]
That’s a very general accusation without examples or links to back it up- As well Can you be more specific? Theological differences, no matter how heated, are NOT biggotry- last I checked, we’re still a country where we can discuss theological differences ardently.
[[Threads dealing with Catholicism often have plenty of hatred directed at Rome.]]
Again- theological differences- Hatred? Examples please.
[[Evolution related threads generally have religious folks champing at the bit to burn some of them unbelievers at the stake.]]
Philisophical differences- Burn at hte stake? I find that hard to believe- whould it be true however, a person or two, and that is all that it would be, doesn’t amount to this site being declared a hate site - as opposed to DC where the majority it seems post TRUE hateful remarks all day long
[[And yes, immigration threads usually DO have some racism.]]
And yes, the moderators diligently try to patrol the 1000’s of threads and posts each day to annihlate such assininity. The site itself isn’t hateful but unfortunately SOME posts do make it under hte radar. The site is pristine contrary to your assertions and accusations
You’ve only hit the Abuse button twice? My, aren’t you the tolerant one?! LOL
I can see the day when they have us all hitting the 'report abuse' beep-beep-beep-beep buttons on just about any and every thought we express until there's no point trying to discuss anything.
That's not how life works in the real world so why should it work here, sometimes you have to let the free market of ideas play out in total and I trust that the majority of people on this forum mean well and are not what you might call 'hateful' types, angry sometimes, even oftentimes, but not 'hateful.
Where do you draw the line between strong religious disagreement or bigotry? Or pro-American sentiment or racism? Hatred is such a vague term it can be used to apply to almost any disagreement however I am not a child, I can deal with hatred and or strong opposing viewpoints and do not need a nanny to protect me from such, I think a strong and healthy forum wins on the strength and substance of it's ideas from the majority of its members and not on the strength of it's censoring moderators.
I hate winter.
The best thing to do is ignore them and turn them off. There are too many channels to worry about one calling you names.
Not chaos for the moderators, because the don't have moderators.
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