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I think it was Frege who first considered what is now called the paradox of tolerance. Some community considers tolerance of paramount importantance, yet some new arrivals view it with disdains, mocking pluralism: "dark and edgy". If these new arrivals had their way, tolerance would be abolished, yet suppression of them would be intolerant.
One possible resolution is viewing tolerance as subordinate to continued existence of a society. Tolerating the intolerant is what is described in the linked substack post: those who wanted to eliminate dissent from their views on the internet, were not ejected when they revealed his goal, and were successful shortly after. "Fortified community", to adapt a phrase from the Germans.
I realize the irony in citing today's Germany in this context. But as Germany places other values that are not self-preservation as high or even higher than pluralism, such as "human dignity", it does not undermine my point.
Success is shown by this very website: how many persecution campaigns did this community have to endure, how many posters did it lose, due to attitudes which misstate the reality thusly:
The linked substack post describes many campaigns against free speech, by various actors, US domestic and foreign, state and private. Interferences into communication the speaker wants to emit, and the listener to capture. As if the reason why themotte went from reddit is that the readers did not like it, instead of third party inserting itself, in effect saying "Isn't there somebody you forgot to ask?".
I discovered TheMotte on reddit because I chanced upon one of the Quality Contribution thread and thought these ideas weren't my cup of tea at face value but they're sound and reasonable and I want to keep reading in case I change my mind. I think the problem TheMotte faces is lost opportunity for new mottizens, but not all sites need more audience (especially if it's the wrong audience), https://lobste.rs is just a smaller version of hackernews for example. I am not sure of what persecution campaign this community endured, I'm sure the mods and long term members of the site can speak more, and I am thankful for the work of those who made this site continually available. Personally, I make sure to not bring this site to too much attention and only share things from this site that is within the window of acceptability of the target audience I'm sharing to.
To make a more nuanced take, if the government is stepping in to suppress speech, I think there is a bar, a very complicated bar I hope, where they can do that. But if society/majority is making a call on you, there isn't much you can do than play the game (hide it), convert (if you can't beat them join them), take it (suffer the consequences), leave/get around it (find ways to make your own platform). And the beautiful thing about America I find is that I do think if one keeps speaking truth, yes there will be persecution, but reality will unfold in such a way that your truth can't be denied. And Americans are willful and passionate and brilliant and they have the constitution (assuming that is still respect) to protect them to find a way around suppression while waiting for the long archhammer of history to smite the censors.
Of course, there can be many pendulum swings along the way, much has been said about how the tech-right came to be because of how tech moguls were feeling the squeeze of the left and came running into the open arms of conservatives.
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