# Why is this board trying to downplay the Gazan genocide?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-trying-to-downplay-the-gazan-genocide/1025856>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [December 19, 2025, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-trying-to-downplay-the-gazan-genocide/1025856 "2025-12-19T16:05:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 11

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**Author:** ![DCTrekkie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dctrekkie/32/18862_2.png) [@DCTrekkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCTrekkie)\
**Post date:** [December 19, 2025, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-this-board-trying-to-downplay-the-gazan-genocide/1025856/11 "2025-12-19T19:21:33Z")

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> [@ParallelLines](#):
>
> _In that specific thread_ the use of the term was disallowed due to long discussions on whose exact definition would be used, which if anything (IMHO) was distracting all from what was _legitimately_ happening, because the conversation was fixed on the narrow terminology. No one was banned from discussing the actual incidents.

That may have been a concern at first, but as Kimstu and I have shown there is no reasonable doubt that this is genocide, no matter which definition you want to use. UN agencies, Human Rights organisations and genocide experts all agree that it is a genocide.

> [@ParallelLines](#):
>
> It seems you feel that is still putting our fingers on the scales by your first statement, but I for one disagree (politely as I said). But again, and to @Kimstu as well, the term isn’t generally banned, or even banned outside the Pit.

You’ve banned the word genocide in the main thread discussing said genocide, how can that not be “putting (y)our fingers on the scales”.

> [@ParallelLines](#):
>
> It was banned in the one thread because it because the constant arguments about the term stalled the discussion of the actual events.
> 
> The problem is that it’s highly charged (and should be) and _several_ posters seem to be incapable of keeping responses within the bounds of our rules in the many forums it’s being discussed in.

So moderate those posters. If they can’t obey the rules when discussing the issue then deal with them appropriately. If they want to argue the definition then _ **that** _ discussion can move to another thread.

> [@Eonwe](#):
>
> In that regard, this is not that different in my mind from moderation that prevents gun debate discussion in MPSIMS threads about shootings. Not because you can’t have that discussion, but because there is value in making room for discussion about those events without it turning into an argument/debate about gun control. Start a thread on gun control and reference current events? Great! Take a thread about a current event and hijack it into a long back and forth about gun control? No thank you!

Again, banning discussion over the definition in the thread would be fine. This however is more like saying that you can’t refer to a shooting as a shooting, because some posters might turn it into a gun control debate.

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