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.
I’m sure someone else has said this, but I think it’s about time to sue for defamation of character.
I agree with you r9etb.
I think we can defend the 1st Amendment, as well as work to make sure that things on the site do not give false appearances.
I think we already do that on the whole, but perhaps we need to be more vocal IN the threads when someone is close to going off the ledge, so to speak (or has had one too many!). (o:
The problem we are running into though is that the liberal definition of “hate” speech as well as the MSM’s, is vastly different from the majority of thinking people in our society. Thus, I don’t think we will ever be free of accusations no matter how “PC” we make this site. They will ALWAYS find something to point at.
We really need to take a stand and NOT appease them by being too cautious either. The public is really tired of double-speak, and is yearning for straight-forward commentary (precisely the type of commentary that will get us in “trouble” with the left). We alrady strike the most blatant and obvious posts, and ban posters who show themselves to be trouble-maker. I would hate to see our freedoms needlessly restricted further (no pun intended).
Speaking out civilly in-thread against these posters, and making use of the abuse system is again, the only way I can think of to deal with the problems that indeed all forums are prone by nature to have to deal with.
No. But it is hateful to misuse and abuse an apostrophe. ;-)
Right back at ‘ya Quix!!! Thank you for the compliments! You’re making me blush! ((HUGS))
I'm really not interested in conversing with you on this topic any longer.
Sounds like a winner...these people need to back off..and stop with the allegations, lies and total BS.
Granted that they're wrong about FR, but really -- whose character is being defamed? The vast, vast majority of us are completely anonymous.
A lawsuit over something like this is like going home crying to mother. If FReepers are going to play with the Big Boys, FReepers had better be able to take the same sorts of accusations we dish out to the Big Boys.
And before you sue ... I'm pretty sure that "their" lawyers (whoever "they" are) would be able to find plenty of stuff on FR to convince a jury that our defamation suit was unwarranted.
Yes. But I think most people hate irresponsible commentary from the right at least as much as they do from the likes of Nancy Pelosi.
Speaking out civilly in-thread against these posters, and making use of the abuse system is again, the only way I can think of to deal with the problems that indeed all forums are prone by nature to have to deal with.
Well, yes ... but the abuse button only hides bad behavior, it doesn't prevent it. Relying on FReepers to police the bad actors sorta leaves out the most important part of all, which is for individual FReepers to think before they hit "Post."
Pretty soon saying something pro-Bush or Patriotic is going to be considered Hate speech and yet Obama can outright accuse our military of terroristic acts and that becomes freedom of speech..
Be very careful just because someone disagrees with anothers political, philosophical, or social beliefs does not make one or the other hateful. It becomes hateful when it becomes personal.
“I cant believe he would be so sloppy with his research!”
He achieved his goal, so his reasearch was spot-on.
I have no doubt that the BOR clowns would side with you. That, however, is meaningless...because they’re also the clowns that fabricate the justification for their claims.
Come to think if it, you’re birds of a feather.
By the way, I hope that everyone on FR reads through your post library to see where you laid the blame for the three black kids murdered in New Jersey on them...the victims...because you say they were somewhere where they shouldn’t have been. Of course, you didn’t say a word about the illegal alien killer not being where he was “supposed to be.”
Once again, you place the lives and futures of American citizens beneath the “hopes and dreams” of illegal invaders. Is it because they’re Americans that you care so little for their lives...or, is it because the victims were black?
I support American citizens, our Constitution, and the rule of law. I don’t think that America should be rewarding criminal behavior, with jobs, with social services, or with any pathway to citizenship.
Above our own children, you support those who invade our boarders, take jobs away from Americans, steal our social services, rape our children, kill Americans virtually every day.
Every American who was killed by an illegal alien, raped by an illegal alien, had their identity stolen by an illegal alien, was pushed out of a job or a business by an illegal alien, can credit YOU for your support of illegal aliens in the US.
They are fodder for your economic gain...but you think you’re not hateful.
You have openly and repeatedly defended the presence of millions of illegal aliens in the US.
Nobody hates American children like someone like you, who would undermine their futures for your own economic gain.
You can side with the BOR “hate” fabricators all you want. All it proves is that you are on the very side of those who lie to try to besmirch Free Republic.
They THINK??? LOL
That’s what gets me too! It’s almost as if they WANTED us to realize that they are in bed with the “enemy”. Perhaps, it was a reverse psychology thing on the part of Bush and McCain (to fire us up against it)??? I don’t want to give them that much credit for being that clever though. Also, it would’ve been too risky if that was their real plan as we got way too close to seeing it voted into law... So, I am only left to assume that they really ARE in bed with the “enemy”...
I personally think there is a group within our government (Bush/Clinton/Bush/Clinton???? — elitists?) that views itself as a superior group and has ultimate goals separate from that of preservation of our sovereignty and strength — despite still being strong on some things we as Conservatives would agree with (i.e. The WOT) beause that wouldn’t help their goals either — an Islamic Caliphate does NOTHING to help anyone really as they are not about to stop their violence against everyone that is not them...
I guess what I’m saying is that I think there really is a group of politicians on both sides who want to lead us the way Europe has gone, and eventually have everything decided by the UN (boy, I hope I’m wrong!!!!). Clinton himself eluded to this “group” by calling himself one of the “good guys” versus a group of “bad guys” who were calling for his resignation — he stated that it was not just about the lying. I do realize that it serves the Left to label us a “vast right-wing conspiracy”, but I think that was just for show, and is all part of the game to these people. I really don’t think he was talking about JUST Republicans, either. It’s not like a “shadow” government either, as some theories point to. I’m talking about people out there in the open who attempt to misguide the people, saying they are one thing, and showing themselves to be another (you could add McCain, Guiliani, Kennedy, and a few others to this group very easily).
OK, enough about that! I’m scaring myself! LOL (o:
Thanks!
I for one, believe in the old adage “sticks and stones may break my bones, but names will never hurt me” and “words have meanings”, incidentally, not what they have been changed or misinterpreted to mean, the true meanings.
PC is a huge rock, behind which lies hide.
Arthur McGowan’s Coloring the News is in my opinion as important a book for conservatives these days as Camp of the Saints
;>)
No, I'm not suggesting that. I'm saying that there are FReepers who need to clean up their act, because they're helping the MSM to tar us with the "hate site" brush.
PC is a huge rock, behind which lies hide.
So is the "I ain't done nuttin', they're just pickin' on me" gambit.
Obviously I agree with thinking before someone hits the “post” button. I wish we had an edit button as well, but alas we don’t! Anyway, I think the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of posters here DO think before they push the button. Out of all the THOUSANDS of threads and posts that are produced here just in one day, I don’t think this is a rampant problem at all.
As far as the abuse button “hiding” things — the majority of those who get posts pulled are also banned. I don’t think there is anything wrong with taking these comments off the boards! After all, leaving them ON would only lead to MORE accusations of endorsing and condoning the bad behavior. After all, Bill O’Reilly claimed we didn’t ever strike these sorts of posts, so refusing to would be kind of insane, IMHO.
Which is why we should wholeheartedly agree, IMO, with defending against labeling such as this, and call it what it is — an attempt to defame the “character” of FR itself, and a pure political ploy. I don’t want to see our country go the way of Canada with their “Hate Crimes” tribunals and such that FreeDominion was faced with... Which is why I want to defend the rights of posters here — even when they are teetering on the edge of bad behavior...
BTTT for great post of common sense!
If anybody is having trouble understanding why these accusations against Freep are irritating and unfair, they should take notice at how much effort has been expended at keeping people who want to use Freep for to advocate racism and violence off the site.
A google search shows deliberate efforts by Storm Fronters to infiltrate. All kinds of trolls come here to make the site look bad by trying to get away with extremist posts. If you read other sites that comment on Freep you will see threads where they are uncertain whether a extreme post or thread on Freep is real or whether its being done by one of their members “under cover.”
I’m not personally involved but I would imagine that the toughest of all is when regular posters have a topic that upsets them so much they go over the edge on it. There are some people I really like who are so upset (and rightly so) over illegal immigration that they suggest crazy things - I bet its no fun at all policing that.
I used to run message boards in the olden times and its a big, big pain in the rear.
It would nice if the people who have something negative to say about Freep would at least acknowledge the difficulty in moderating a board with a new post every few seconds 24/7. And if they really wanted to be fair they could also acknowledge how much more effective the moderating is here than on most other political discussion sites, particularly liberal and/or progressive sites.
/rant
First, You do an incredible job as spokesperson for FR Kristinn! We are all very proud of you, and we owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude!
One suggestion I thought of... (and I’m pretty sure you’ve already thought of it, and maybe you’ve already tried this tactic, but I’m just trying to help! (o:)
If you get the chance to address this, I think having the average number of posts in one day generated on this site, and the avg. number of stricken comments, and banned posters, might do some good. If we can show beyond a doubt by hard facts that this site is not rampant with these comments and posters like this perhaps we could stem the accusations?
Perhaps, I am wishing for too much on the part of the MSM... Again, just a suggestion!
Thank you for all you do Kristinn!!!
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