So Twitter has decided to crack down on "neo-Nazis and extremists" with a set of new policies that go into place on December 22nd. In part,
"You also may not affiliate with organisations that - whether by their own statements or activity both on and off the platform - use or promote violence against civilians to further their causes." Makes you wonder, as freelance journalist Tim Pool did, whether that means anyone affiliated with Antifa will be banned. It continues, "You also may not use your username, display name, or profile bio to engage in abusive behaviour, such as targeted harassment or expressing hate towards a person, group, or protected category." The policy also bans "hateful images of symbols." I suspect this will include not just the swastika, but also Pepe the frog. While "abusive behavior" and "targeted harassment" merit action, what exactly does "expressing hate" toward a "group, or protected category" mean? Does saying "men commit more crime than women" count as hate? Or are men not a "protected category." Does saying "blacks commit more crime than whites" count as hate? I would suspect so, even if one offers a detailed explanation as to why, say the War on Drugs and collapse of the black family. It also leads me to ask a question I have in many other places (here, here, here and here); why do communists get a free pass? Presumably, Antifa would be banned for advocating violence (although I would be shocked if that happens). But what about just run-of-the-mill commmies? If advocating for a hateful ideology such as fascism of Nazism gets you banned. Then so should advocating for communism. You may think it sounds nice but just doesn't work. But if you've ever met a communist, you'll realize that most of them are filled with hate; hate for capitalists, America, the West, whites, men, Christianity, in some instances Jews and, of course, their own miserable existence, etc. While Nazism is repugnant, a free society tolerates the expression of repugnant views. Good ideas can and must beat bad ones. To say otherwise means you believe that censorship and authoritarianism are required. And those are two terrible ideas. Thus, in the battle ideas, you've already lost. This is why communists should be allowed to preach their filth. But so should fascists. And if you're going to flush the brown, flush the red while you're at it.
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Or I should say, at least in part.
The media is telling us that the horrific shooting in Texas that took 26 lives had "no racial or religious motive." CNN tells us he had a "row with his mother-in-law." Well there you go, he obviously had no religious motive whatsoever! Except, as CNN also tells us, "But Kelley's mother-in-law was not inside the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs when Kelley sprayed the congregation with gunfire." If he had a "row with his mother-in-law," why not just shoot her? Why shoot up a church full of innocent people? Well, it obviously has something to do with the fact that he was a disturbed individual with a history of domestic abuse who had been in a mental institution and dishonorably discharged from the military. But being unstable is basically a prerequisite for mass shooters. Kelley hated Christians. He made no effort to hide this. His Facebook page had multiple atheist accounts listed who was described by his peers as a "militant atheist." One person noted “He was always talking about how people who believe in God we’re stupid and trying to preach his atheism.” Indeed, it wasn't just his mother-in-law that he had a row with, he "spent the months before his attack 'starting drama' with strangers on Facebook." If some guy had been talking about how much he despised Islam and how stupid Muslims were for months on and end and then shot up a Mosque, would anyone say he didn't do it for religious reasons because he had a "row with his mother-in-law." Perhaps that "row" was the trigger to set him off. Perhaps he hated all religion and it just happened to be a church that was nearby. Perhaps. But it is beyond obvious that his victims were targeted, at least in large part, because they were Christians. My latest post on BiggerPockets discusses the similarity between how to quit smoking and how to improve your life and business.
The key: Enjoy the path. I describe how I quit smoking with Allen Carr's great book The Easy Way To Stop Smoking. For any smokers out there, I highly recommend the book. Carr basically flips the "quit smoking" script by focusing not on the downsides but on the fact that all the "upsides" are illusions. For example, the excuse of "I smoke because I'm bored" doesn't make sense because, well, smoking is boring! Basically, Carr teaches you to "enjoy the path" to quitting smoking and it works remarkably well. The same goes for almost everything else in life. Goals are great, but if they are your obsession, you will always live in a "pre-success failure." I go into much more detail in the article. Check it out! |
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