"Behind closed doors" is the *obvious* answer to this question. When throughout history when Nazis and their like felt emboldened to proclaim their views in public and as a neutral intellectual exercise has it ever been a *good* sign for things to come? 
I hate how this saying is used.
People shouldn't be arrested by the state for expressing backward, toxic even hateful speech (so long as it doesn't incite), but there is *absolutely no justification* to give it exposure, and certainly no reason to *fight* in order to do so.
People shouldn't be arrested by the state for expressing backward, toxic even hateful speech (so long as it doesn't incite), but there is *absolutely no justification* to give it exposure, and certainly no reason to *fight* in order to do so.
People of bad intent aren't trying to have an exchange of ideas. They're not trying to win a debate. They're trying to use debate in order to enact their intentions.
They want a world in which their bad intentions are up for debate.
They want a world in which their bad intentions are up for debate.
https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1382634544814243848?s=20
People of bad intent are in debate to establish the unthinkable as a matter that is subject to debate.
Unthinkable. Except... not, because we've been debating; thinking about the unthinkable, like very open-minded and reasonable people, for years.
Unthinkable. Except... not, because we've been debating; thinking about the unthinkable, like very open-minded and reasonable people, for years.
https://twitter.com/JuliusGoat/status/1022444150971670529?s=20
The thing about debating people of bad intent is, the debate is never done.
You'll never convince them their beliefs are wrong. In fact they don't actually have beliefs. They'll switch their beliefs in an instant if it helps them tactically pursue their intent.
You'll never convince them their beliefs are wrong. In fact they don't actually have beliefs. They'll switch their beliefs in an instant if it helps them tactically pursue their intent.
What people like our friend up top there want isn't an open exchange of opinions on the free market of ideas. He wants to subsidize already failed ideas, to lend them a perpetual currency which must be perpetually fought but never defeated.
There's a cost to pay for this, almost never paid by the person who "hates what they say, but fights for their right to say it," by which is meant "a stage, a microphone, and a politely curious moderator."
The cost is paid by all the people whose existence is being debated.
The cost is paid by all the people whose existence is being debated.
When you allow people's existence to be a topic for debate, then their very existence becomes something they have to argue for.
It robs them of their time, which is their life. All the time they might have spent otherwise is now spent debating people who will never be convinced.
It robs them of their time, which is their life. All the time they might have spent otherwise is now spent debating people who will never be convinced.
When you allow people's existence to be a topic for debate, their survival becomes something they must earn, *by being convincing.*
And: the decision about their survival increasingly becomes the province of those who must be convinced—the same people who want to destroy them.
And: the decision about their survival increasingly becomes the province of those who must be convinced—the same people who want to destroy them.
This is why I find the framework of "convincing others" so toxic. It's a framework that throws the time and dignity and even the very existence of other people—people who are not me—into hazard, and empowers the very people who wish them harm.
We don't need the permission of Nazis. We don't need to convince them of shit. We should have no interest in being convinced by them. They can hide. They should.
They should be in the dark, afraid to come out, whispering their poison to each other. That's the place for them.
They should be in the dark, afraid to come out, whispering their poison to each other. That's the place for them.
Longer if you want longer. armoxon.com/2017/09/bubble…
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
