Politics and Society Moderation Discussion Only Fans Thread
Hello everyone. I've closed the previous mod thread, and opened this to capture all issues related to moderation policies and actions going forward. I'll kick it off by reposting my intro post from the other thread. Again, I'm happy to be here and look forward to hearing from you.
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Hello everyone.
I'm very pleased to have the opportunity to serve as a moderator in Politics and Society. I asked for this position because I believe we are experiencing a polarization in our politics and society unseen since the 1960s. We may well be at a juncture from which we will either make great progress or suffer great setbacks in regards to our democratic foundations and civil rights over the next few years. So I believe it is important to maintain a forum for discussing these important topics. When the other mods had to step back a bit due to their real life time obligations, I asked to join the mod team to help keep the forum going.
I have not followed this forum in the past, though I have been reading through threads the last few days and made a few posts. This has allowed me to get a sense of the initial impression the forum likely makes on new readers who are deciding if our forum is a place they would like to visit regularly and participate in. While I see some familiar names from the live poker forum, many of you I have not had any interaction with to date. I have no preconceived notions of anyone's posting behavior and will essentially start from a clean slate.
I will shortly post more about my modding approach and give my initial impressions of the forum based on my observations over the last several days. I will be soliciting your input on things you like about the forum that you want to remain, and things you don't like that you would like me to change. Your candid input and feedback is very important to me. Especially, please don't hesitate to let me know if you think a policy or a proposal is a bad idea. I'd rather hear it before it goes into effect than after.
My overall modding principle is simple: Be Nice. Disagreement need not be disrespectful, and everyone must be treated with respect. Calling a poster derogatory names or hurling snarky insults never usefully advances a discussion. It just bogs things down and turns off many would be participants. And it's not nice. Don't do it.
My goal is to have a forum where people with a wide variety of opinions along the political spectrum enjoy expressing and debating their views in a spirited manner, free from insults, bigotry and denigrating comments. If you enjoy discussing these important and often polarizing issues in a passionate, yet respectful manner, I look forward to getting to know you and working with you to create a forum people will enjoy visiting and contributing to. You can be as committed, determined and relentless as you like in advocating for your position. Be persuasive, thought provoking and challenging. But be nice.
I want to thank tame_deuces and King Spew for their support in bringing me onboard and for all the time and effort they have put into making the forum better. While I am taking over most of the day to day modding responsibilities, both are retaining their mod status and superpowers, and will be supporting the forum as their availability permits. And I personally welcome their continued advice and feedback.
Again, I am happy to be here and look forward to getting to know you.
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So how are you able to say Palestinian is not a race if you now agree it can be depending on the context? I'm not saying it must be always be a race, or if you're Palestinian thats the only thing your race can be end of subject; which you don't seem to follow. The dictionary definition of number includes a criteria on ordering, but we know that's not required. Saying Palestinian is not a race is like saying the square root of negative one is not a number because complex numbers have no canonical ordering. It's not really a rabbit hole to say that's fallacious.
Why is that then? And whaddya mean you of all people? And yet again Arabs aren't a race, even if you fervently think they should be. Again words have meanings. They aren't what you personally and magically decide them to be.
Not all Palestinians are Arabs either so your comment isn't the gotcha you think it is.
Why is that then? And whaddya mean you of all people? And yet again Arabs aren't a race, even if you fervently think they should be. Again words have meanings. They aren't what you personally and magically decide them to be.
The notion that a race or racial classification must have the same skin tone is obviously not true. You can't magically decide they must.
The notion that a race or racial classification must have the same skin tone is obviously not true. You can't magically decide they must.
Sure when it comes to albinos. That still doesn't make Palestinians or Arabs a race. The Arab anti discriminatory committee don't regard Arabs as a race.
https://adc.org/facts-about-arabs-and-th....
Arabs are united by culture and by history. Arabs are not a race. Some have blue eyes and red hair; others are dark skinned; many are somewhere in between. Most Arabs are Muslims but there are also millions of Christian Arabs and thousands of Jewish Arabs, just as there are Muslim, Christian, and Jewish Americans.
But I'm sure they're wrong (as in actual Arabs) and you're right.
LOL. Look who's back. If the concept of race is "fuzzy and observer dependent" then the application of the term racism must be equally fuzzy and observer dependent. Which means there isn't a single, proper way to apply the term in a given situation, but rather it depends on how each person chooses to define it. Which is what I said.
Your excuses have become so flimsy that they're genuinely insulting.
Sure when it comes to albinos. That still doesn't make Palestinians or Arabs a race. The Arab anti discriminatory committee don't regard Arabs as a race.
https://adc.org/facts-about-arabs-and-th....
But I'm sure they're wrong (as in actual Arabs) and you're right.
So what race are Vivek Ramaswamy and Nicki Haley? Most would say Indian or south Asian despite the difference in their skin tone. I guess words have meanings though and it’s what low info internet trolls need at any moment.
Are we figuring out that race isn't real in this thread?
This is as dumb as when someone said that Palestinians are semites and he's pro Palestine so he can't be antisemitic
If you want to use a different word go ahead but in general racist means prejudiced against a group and the rest of this talk is dumb
it sounds like you guys bludgeoned browser into allowing this to become an offtopic thread.
isnt everything.
Racist tropes, bigoted tropes, anti-Arab tropes, islamophobic tropes…..does it really matter? Maybe focus on not doing it as opposed to exactly the term for it.
it sounds like you guys bludgeoned browser into allowing this to become an offtopic thread.
Nah. Im on Thailand time so I went to sleep.
But I think we've reached the point where the same arguments are just being repeated back and forth and its become solely a "what is racism" discussion rather than a moderation issue So if anyone wants to continue this discussion do so in the general discussion thread.
Thanks
Racist tropes, bigoted tropes, anti-Arab tropes, islamophobic tropes…..does it really matter?
You wouldn't think so. You'd think that if the mods saw a guy calling Arabs bloodthirsty tribal Nazis they'd tell him to knock it off with that hateful **** instead of getting precious about what the word "racism" means, yet here we are.
This is as dumb as when someone said that Palestinians are semites and he's pro Palestine so he can't be antisemitic
If you want to use a different word go ahead but in general racist means prejudiced against a group and the rest of this talk is dumb
It reminds me of when the beef industry was trying to get the term "veggie burger" banned to protect consumers from being mislead. I'm sure there was a lot of "Websters defines" and "words have meaning" in those briefs. The people quibbling over what a race is might not be too bright, but they also have an agenda.
So what race are Vivek Ramaswamy and Nicki Haley? Most would say Indian or south Asian despite the difference in their skin tone. I guess words have meanings though and it’s what low info internet trolls need at any moment.
Yes they do have meanings glad you're finally getting it. Asian isn't a race either.
As I feared - you seem to be ignorant of the broad definition of racism, which doesn't apply only to people of the same ethnicity because race is a social construct.
So making derogatory comments about the Portuguese or about Arabs is racism.
I'm pretty sure actual (American, anyway) racists would be biased against both Arabs and Jews, as most could not tell the difference between them based on visual appearances.
Bit surprised to be lectured that 'Arab is not a race', when Arabs are a universally recognised ethnic group speaking a language called Arabic.
What language do black people speak? If they don't have a defined language, does that mean people biased against others for their skin color are not racist?
You are welcome to choose any definition you like for racism and then apply it to any group you like. .
Maybe they didn't teach you this in the army but this isn't the 1930s and people can't easily and neatly be consigned to one or other "race", because their genes are usually from all over the place.
It's complex. Maybe the corpus suggestion of using "bigoted towards" works better for you.
Edit. Just saw your last post. Ok, in future please mod bigotry towards Arabs with a warning, or at least point out that's what it is rather than appear to defend it, thanks.
Maybe they didn't teach you this in the army but this isn't the 1930s and people can't easily and neatly be consigned to one or other "race", because their genes are usually from all over the place.
It's complex. Maybe the corpus suggestion of using "bigoted towards" works better for you.
Edit. Just saw your last post. Ok, in future please mod bigotry towards Arabs with a warning, or at least point out that's what it is rather than appear to
Fortunately I received my bachelor of science degree in bacteriology prior to going into the Army, and had a couple of genetics classes along the way. And I dont recall stating anywhere that people can be easily and neatly consigned to one or another race, as you suggest I did.
