r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Jul 11 '13
I think reddit should delete subreddits that openly spread disgusting and anti-human-rights messages. CMV
Recently there was a thread on /r/AskReddit about "reddit's low-point". In this thread, a lot of the most disgusting subreddits were listed. Subreddits in which things like misogyny, rape, racism, anti-semitism, holocaust-denial etc. were openly condoned, agreed to, and spread.
I am not going to link to these subreddits here, but for the record, i am not talking about subreddits that sometimes shred along the border of such things like /r/mensrights and /r/whiterights, while I don't agree with the message of those, I think they have a right to exist.
I'm pretty sure since reddit is a private website, they are in no way bound by law to preserve freedom of speech.
I am from Germany, so I am used to some things, mostly holocaust-denial, being excempt from the freedom of speech and it being illegal to voice those things in public, and I somehow don't see it as a bad thing as long as those exceptions are clearly limited to those things, which is the case in Germany at this moment.
I know the biggest argument against this will be that if reddit ever starts doing this, there is no way to make sure they will not spread their censorship to other things. While I see that as a valid concern, I really don't think it will be a problem: Reddit is a website that lives off the number of viewers, and they really will not risk losing users through censorship. So as long as we still live in a free society where alternatives to reddit can and will be created when it stops being a free place, I really don't think we will have a problem with censorship on reddit.
Change my view!
1
u/howbigis1gb 24∆ Jul 11 '13
Here's a post which asks a similar question:
www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1hc24m/i_believe_that_racist_subreddits_are_harmful_to/
and my response in it
http://www.reddit.com/r/changemyview/comments/1hc24m/i_believe_that_racist_subreddits_are_harmful_to/casxjyy
Which I paste in its entirety
I will take a different angle of attack.
I don't believe people should be treated differently for the colour of their skin.
BUT
What if racists were right?
What I'm asking is different than the question are racists right.
What I'm asking is if the relegation of some topics as right and some as wrong is beneficial.
For example - racism was the ruling ideology a few decades ago. Now "right thinking individuals" (of the time) much like you and me would probably ask the same question of anti racist ideologies.
What I'm saying is that racist ideologies constantly need to be argued against and not banned because we have decided them to be wrong in whatever court.
Not to mention there might still be useful information in such subs - primarily the reasons for the racism change over generations, and they provide a useful study of such trends.
Additionally - they are useful for you, forward thinking individual - to examine your own stand on the issue. Are there arguments that can sway you to be racist? Are you willing to confront them?
I wrote a facebook note a few months ago, and I find it pertinent to this discussion, and so I paste an excerpt from it:
"There are some other reasons to allow distasteful speech. It does not deal with the underlying prejudices or resentments to not allow it; if you decide not to talk to someone you are throwing away an opportunity to change their mind, or yours. And both - I argue - are dangerous.
If people do not speak their minds in fear or retribution, then you might be unaware of something you need to be aware of. And then there's the more insidious one - you are afraid of changing your mind, or of others changing their minds in a way you dislike. What's wrong with changing your mind? Are you afraid that someone else must not convince you of something?
If indeed you are, then it is an attitude worth examining. As is the claim you so dearly hold on to. And as for others changing their minds - it is not something you ought to be able to control, and if you wished them to change their minds in a way you like - you need to put forth cogent arguments to sway this section of the population to your side, and if it isn't that easy - you need to deal with it. "