Standing Up For Hate
Ever since the events that occurred at Charlottesville the threat of ethno-nationalist movements such as the KKK, Vanguard America, (Neo)Nazis, the Alt-Right and other right wing extremists is finally getting the attention it deserves. With the increased publicity came the public backlash and many companies who had some connection to the groups have decided to terminate business with them. Some of these companies are content-sharing tools and ethno-nationalists and others individuals have brought up the argument that it is wrong for companies to "shut down" speech just because they disagree with it. The slippery slope argument is that today they'll shut nazis down and tomorrow they may shut you down. It is quite interesting that people who believe Hobby Lobby, a private business, should have a right to a moral stand now feel other corporations should be neutral platforms of speech. It is also important to remember that no private business is forced to provide a platform for any kind of speech because that's not what the first amendment guarantees. What we're seeing is a small demonstration of the power of corporations, a power that some believed could never backfire. If we want to demand that corporations practice neutrality we must require this apply to all businesses without moral exceptions, including Hobby Lobby. I for once do not believe that rights should be up to free market trends but since we are being forced to play by the rules of this game I have no problems with any of the corporations denying service to ethno-nationalists.
However not everything is bad news for ethno-nationalists. Nick Lim, the 20 year-old millionaire founder of a CDN company has decided to step up to the plate in the name of free speech and self-promotion. Although Nick Lim claims he was not familiar with the content he is trying to protect, his expressions seems to fall in line with the supporters of these groups. In an interview with Pro-Publica Lim refused to condemn or endorse the views of the Daily Stormer but his neutrality only stretched so far. On Thursday night and Friday morning (same Friday the interview was published) Nick Lim tweeted "People think they are doing good by silencing white supremacists but in reality they are chipping away at constitutional rights" and later on "Is the left evil or just stupidevil?". Now let's be candid about this. Nick Lim won't condemn the Daily Stormer, a website founded by neo-nazi Andrew Anglin with the sole purpose of promoting nazi propaganda but he won't hold back against those who took a moral stand against it. In his confusion between right and privilege, he deems the power of the free market a greater evil than the contents of Daily Stormer. I don't think Nick Lim hates the free market itself since he is using the same market to defend his priorities. What Nick Lim hates is the position the free market, which he calls the left, took in this case.
In the end Nick is free to use his power to assist whatever cause he believes in and this is the one he chose. He may claim he is standing up for a constitutional right but the truth is the first amendment remains the same as it was before Charlottesville and the only thing changed is his understanding of it. He may convince the world and himself that his cause is righteous but to facilitate a platform and a recruitment tool to ethno-nationalists goes above and beyond the call of duty. Makes you wonder.
However not everything is bad news for ethno-nationalists. Nick Lim, the 20 year-old millionaire founder of a CDN company has decided to step up to the plate in the name of free speech and self-promotion. Although Nick Lim claims he was not familiar with the content he is trying to protect, his expressions seems to fall in line with the supporters of these groups. In an interview with Pro-Publica Lim refused to condemn or endorse the views of the Daily Stormer but his neutrality only stretched so far. On Thursday night and Friday morning (same Friday the interview was published) Nick Lim tweeted "People think they are doing good by silencing white supremacists but in reality they are chipping away at constitutional rights" and later on "Is the left evil or just stupidevil?". Now let's be candid about this. Nick Lim won't condemn the Daily Stormer, a website founded by neo-nazi Andrew Anglin with the sole purpose of promoting nazi propaganda but he won't hold back against those who took a moral stand against it. In his confusion between right and privilege, he deems the power of the free market a greater evil than the contents of Daily Stormer. I don't think Nick Lim hates the free market itself since he is using the same market to defend his priorities. What Nick Lim hates is the position the free market, which he calls the left, took in this case.
In the end Nick is free to use his power to assist whatever cause he believes in and this is the one he chose. He may claim he is standing up for a constitutional right but the truth is the first amendment remains the same as it was before Charlottesville and the only thing changed is his understanding of it. He may convince the world and himself that his cause is righteous but to facilitate a platform and a recruitment tool to ethno-nationalists goes above and beyond the call of duty. Makes you wonder.
Comments
Post a Comment