The Time I Got Punished for Hate Speech – IOTW Report

The Time I Got Punished for Hate Speech

American Thinker:

It’s been quite a week for me already, because I was thrown in jail and released 24 hours later.  I had no counsel, no Miranda rights, and no chance for an early release.  However, this wasn’t a literal jail.  It reaches farther into society than the place people go when they break our criminal laws.

This was Facebook jail.

I’ve used Facebook since 2009, and despite my sometimes heated political rhetoric and, admittedly, outright troll-baiting, this was the first time I was censored and banned.  The alleged offense?  Hate speech.  Yes, that vague and often indefinable term that nevertheless causes liberals to gasp and swoon.

In the world of the political or societal liberal, any instance of what they believe to be hate speech shows how much work there is yet to do in re-educating the masses about what is deemed unacceptable speaking or writing.  It’s an ongoing task because despite their best efforts to police our language and society, people continue to use words they don’t like.

Hate speech changes on a whim, which is why we need self-appointed overlords to guide us toward correct and approved conversations.  “Drug addict” is now a “substance-abuser.”  “Illegal alien” is now an “undocumented worker.”  “Welfare handouts” are “entitlements.”

My offense on Facebook was commenting twice about transgenderism in an accurate and correct manner. 

12 Comments on The Time I Got Punished for Hate Speech

  1. Why is no one finding an alternative to Facebook? Probably it’s too late! Why our government has a soft corner for Facebook, WhatsUp, and Twitter?
    “With Important Elections Coming Up In The U.S., Mexico, Brazil, India, Pakistan A¡nd More Countries In The Next Year, One Of My Top Priorities For 2018 Is Making Sure We Support Positive Discourse And Prevent Interference In These Elections.” — Mark Zuckerberg at the Testimony before the Senate and the Congress……………What did he mean by that?

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  2. Offending delicate sensibilities has become a popular sport. The more unhinged they become the more fun to watch.
    All the while hoping it will cause one to cross that fatal line.

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  3. Reality is the number 1 threat to Facebook, or just about any liberal run organization. Think what would happen to Apple if their customers were aware of phones sold in China that are better than iphones at a fraction of the cost. Think of what would happen to Tesla if its fan base was aware Porsche and BMW are already leaps and bounds ahead with autonomous driving and battery technology. There are already electric semis on the road today, but try to find a U.S. run liberal company that won’t stand in line for a Tesla semi. I could name a bunch more, but the fact is illusions and lack of the full story and willingness to not know the full story keep the ball in play and reality at bay.

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  4. Why is no one suing Facebook claiming it is a public forum in which First Amendment rights apply? I understand Facebook is a private business, but their business is inviting members of the general public to participate in speech activities. Over the years, there has been a considerable amount of litigation and state laws regarding the concept of shopping centers as public forums, but shopping malls exist to offer consumers goods and services with speech relegated to a secondary role. Facebook, on the other hand, exists solely to provide a speech forum for members of the general public – that is their business, and they use data mining and advertising gleaned from information (i.e. speech) provided by the general public in order to make profits.

    Arguably, Facebook and other social media platforms (many owned by Facebook) provide the main public forum in our modern society and this is a situation which Facebook has actually promoted. Facebook has few, if any parameters for participants in their initial postings, but does apply vague and ambiguous rules post facto for speech they do not agree with. For example, I can post “I hate Amish people,” and if Facebook declares that to be hate speech they delete the post and ban the author. This is censorship after the fact combined with a denial to a forum which Facebook encourages to be as public and widespread as possible.

    Prohibiting Facebook’s arbitrary and capricious restrictions on First Amendment rights would have no discernible cost to Facebook. Facebook has promoted itself as a public forum, and should be held to the standards of the First Amendment.

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  5. Wyatt: Class action lawsuit would be even better.

    You know, it’s only a matter of time before AT&T, Verizon, et al start utilizing software to detect “hate speech “ spoken on your cellphone and suspend your service. It’s probably already there on page 155 of the agreement you signed when you started service.

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  6. There is no need for a class action, and a class action would delay things because a lot of time and effort is taken up with certifying the class. The Bill of Rights is individual, and individuals can sue if Constitutional rights are violated. I remember a documentary where a CBS reporter, I think it was Mike Wallace, asked Harry Reems, a porn star, if Harry believed that the First Amendment applied just to him. The correct answer to that question was “yes, the First Amendment applies to me individually.”

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