I’m certainly not trying to insult you personally. I did differ in opinion with you about the intent of the original post, but I’m not trying to make an ass out of you. Your statement about the pit is actually quite laughable, there is nothing in the pit that is not either opinion, or mis-directed vitriol.
The pit seems to be (to me, at least so far) a forum for bitching, moaning, ranting, lesser complaining, and selected dirty/evil talk.
Here it comes.
I think the pit is mostly (not naming names, cuz I don’t know all the prominent players) full of…let’s see. Self-serving entities who know all, those that will take objection with anything that presents itself, indignant pariahs that don’t know they are in fact pariahs, loudmouth assholes, “helen lovejoy’s”, religious fanatics, racists (sometimes), overly-sensitive people, those that like to get in fights, complainers, angry motorists/diners, etc.
It should be interesting, the floodgates are closed.
Am I missing something here? Brown Sugar isn’t racist. It’s about racism, as practiced by the Colonial British slaveholders who considered “darkies” to be subhuman, but then poured out all their darker pent-up emotions of lust and violence out on them.
I’m sure this thread will make me some “enemies” or at least people who hate me, so be it, that’s not what I’m out for, but I do think that typical pit behaviour is like toddlers (although verbose) fighting in a sandbox of rhetoric.
Actually, if the status quo is to be, then I will be forgotten forthwith, nothing happened.
Oh now come on, dnooman , I sense the Pit force in you. I feel that there is much anger repressed. Express it. (Eric Cartman whisper) “Express it, my friend”
You’ll feel better, we’ll feel better ripping you for what doesn’t affect us, and all will be happy.
The question being, of course, are you now in violation because of the use of the word “darkies”?
Of course, I’ve used the sarcastic phrase “liberal commie pink faggots” in reference to myself and others in various threads. Very recently, in fact.
So…what, exactly, is this zero tolerance policy? Is it an extension of the “Don’t be a jerk” rule?
That rule, of course, was a huge matter in the discussions on the SDMB subscription threads. Specifically, that it was too vague and open to abuse and misinterpretation.
Glad to see that got taken care of…
-Joe, just liberal, neither a commie, pinko, nor faggot
Yeah, or maybe the mods are just trying to stem the tide of SF assholes that have been overrunning the boards lately, and locked a thread of dubious value that would have been catnip to the white supremacist set.
Right. It was also locked for being in the wrong forum. SOP since before I started posting here, at least.
And DrMatrix made no mention of any lyrics already posted in the thread. Why are you so convinced he was talking about “Brown Sugar,” when even the most hysterical racism witch-hunter wouldn’t have a problem with the lyrics posted?
The mods also lock most threads that touch on file-sharing, even if they aren’t about illegal file-sharing, because they have a highly predictable tendency to morph into just such threads. I can see the same issue with this thread, aside from the inappropriateness of the forum in which it was posted.
Or they just don’t want that argument in GQ.
Well, I don’t really know GaWd, so I’m not particualrly swayed by that citation. Is he usually paranoid? Is he an idiot? I’ve seen a lot of right-wing kooks say they expect to be banned for calling Clinton a slimeball. It’s not evidence of a “climate of fear,” they’re just morons.
And, for that matter, exactly what did he say to Aldebaraan that he felt he needed to make a pre-emptory apology for? Like I said, I don’t know GaWd. Maybe he’s a genuine bigot, and said something genuinely bigotted. (And, GaWd, if you’re reading this and are not a paranoid idiot bigot, please don’t take any of this personally.)
Oh, chill out, Patrick Henry.
What other thread? Appearances to the contrary, I am not all-knowing and all-seeing.
As for the linked thread, no, I don’t think Green Bean was being a jerk or violating any board rules. And neither does anyone else. If DrMatrix had a problem with those lyrics, he would have said so when he closed the thread. He didn’t. He didn’t warn Green Bean or anyone else in the thread, including the OP. He closed the thread for being a) in the wrong forum and b) probably not such a good idea in the first place. And that’s it. There was no blame attached to any posters or any specific posts in the thread.
Do you have a link to this new policy? I don’t see that DrMatrix’s actions are at all out of line with previous administrative actions on similar subjects.
So what the hell have I been doing in MPSIMS all this time?
Anyway, I think that thread should have been closed as well. It could have evolved into a racist thread - we all know racists are bad people and as someone pointed out, racism is ignorance.
And ignorance is best fought with silence. If we just never talk about racism again, this ugly problem will go away forever. Good job, mods. Good Job.
I had really hoped that a mod would come along and clarify that there was no “zero tolerance” policy on hate speech and that I was overreacting.
Since they didn’t, I’m forced to conclude that I’m not overreacting and that not only does the SDMB have a “zero tolerance” policy on hate speech, it actually has a “less than zero tolerance” policy since the mods will lock threads that might potentially tempt someone to use some of The Words.
So, no discussions of racism in popular music are allowed. Not even a request for information on racism in popular music will be tolerated. No music lyrics containing any offensive words – or even, apparently, concepts, since Brown Sugar doesn’t actually contain any of The Words – can be quoted. I suppose this goes for literature, too. Using the same reasoning that bans all uses of the word “nggr,” regardless of context, threads discussing “Q***r eye for the straight guy” are now forbidden in Cafe Society.
It’s not clear what the status of “hate speech” that potentially denigrates women might be. Words like b*tch, however, are considered to be hate speech by many people. Certain substantive discussions of sensitive topics may also be better left alone. I recall, for example, a quite spirited discussion of rape statistics several months ago. Much of what was said in that discussion was clearly considered to be “hate speech” by many of the participants.
We can debate censorship but we cannot actually use the words being censored. I assume that a discussion of potentially offensive concepts, such as The Bell Curve, would still be allowed in GD, but the truly sad thing is that I’m no longer entirely sure. Many people do consider things like The Bell Curve to be “hate speech.”
You may think I’m making a big deal about this and that “it’s just a message board.” Perhaps you’re right. Maybe it is just a message board – but it didn’t used to be.
Yeah, and if the mods don’t come by and clarify their rules on cannabalism, I’m going to have to conclude that they all like to indulge in a taste of the long pig.
So, no discussions of racism in popular music are allowed. Not even a request for information on racism in popular music will be tolerated.
[QUOTE]
Would you like to start a proper debate on Racism in Popular Music, complete with cites and discussion?
If so, lets go to Great Debates and start it there. I actually think it would be a great debate. Just like Dr. M suggested. It’s not a zero tolerance policy. I think he just closed the thread because the subject matter was in the wrong forum, and invited the OP to reopen in GD.
you’re trying to look for authoritarianism where there isn’t any.
Now you’re just being a stupid git. If there was actual evidence that the mods engaged in cannabalism then you’d be right to be concerned and it would be perfectly reasonable to expect clarification.
Many reasonable people are concerned about this policy.
In fact, I considered making this thread simply a post in that thread but didn’t since that thread was getting quite long.
Once again, the fact that the mods have chosen not to engage in this discussion suggests to me that they feel there is nothing to discuss and nothing to clarify.
Wow. Just wow. This looks completely identical to Airman Doors’ comment.
BTW, when people link to the single post, I can never figure out how to get to the actual thread. Could you post a link?
Banning sarcastic hyperbole on the SDMB makes the baby Cecil cry.
Sorry, quoting racist lyrics in that context is not remotely close to hate speech. He could have moved the thread but closed it out of malice. Bad call.
