JBE, excellent post to follow an excellent post by Graystone (and others), re how to deal with prejudice and hatred on SI. Figured I'd take a crack at it...
One way is to ban it outright:
Pictures or text advocating prejudice or discrimination against any race, color, national origin, religion, disability or handicap, gender, or sexual orientation. Any picture or text that elevates one group over another. Also includes intolerant jokes or slurs.
sonicsys.com
IMO, this should be strictly enforced on all threads not specifically created to discuss such issues. This should pretty much cover all the threads expect a few in the Coffee Shop.
The issue now becomes one of expression versus preaching. Expression is OK. Preaching is not, IMO.
I define "expression" as saying how you feel and/or defending why you feel a certain way. I define "preaching" as going out of your way to express yourself or trying to force your opinion on others.
I also feel that while starting a thread entitled "Why Green people are ruining our society" is protected free speech, it's not the type of speech I want to see on SI and not the type of person I'd like to be associated with as a member of SI. Let that person go start their own web site to preach hatred.
The line gets blurred a bit when discussing racially sensitive topics such as the war in Yugoslavia. It's human nature to take sides. For example, it's OK, IMO, to express an opinion that the Serbs have committed atrocities that must be stopped. It's not OK to preach that Serbs are inherently evil people.
Yes, it's a fine line between expression and preaching. Yes, different people may draw the line in different places. But, yes, a line does have to be enforced because prejudice and hatred should never be taken lightly.
- Jeff |
