A quick word about reader comments

 

Folks, I hate playing the censor.  I really dislike having to intervene in user comments here.  However, sometimes it’s necessary.

Comments like “this race is sub-human”, or “they do things like that because of their race, nothing else”, and the like, are simply not acceptable.  For a start, they’re blatantly untrue.  Many issues have to do with culture, rather than race.  The existence of highly esteemed and respected individuals of every race proves that.  The color of one’s skin does not automatically mean that one’s behavior will be that of a gang-banger or thug.  One’s parentage, upbringing, the circumstances in which one has lived, etc. are going to have a much greater effect on that – which is why, dealing with prison gangs (which I’ve done ad nauseam), I found very little difference between those of one race and those of another.  They all behaved equally criminally, because that was their common culture.

There’s another aspect to comments like that.  They’re going to be used as a method to attack conservative outlets, seeking to drive them off the Internet.  (The latest attack was on Baen’s Bar, a forum that’s been in existence for decades.  You can read Larry Correia’s take on it here.)  I don’t have to worry about that with most of my commenters here, because they respect my wish to keep this place family-friendly, and self-moderate their comments accordingly.  However, there are some who don’t seem to get it.  Friends, I respect your right to have your own opinions, even if I don’t share them:  but please, express them in a way that doesn’t attack others personally for factors such as race, creed or color.  That’s not what we’re about here.

I don’t want to go to full comment moderation, largely because I don’t have time for it.  If we all work together, that won’t be necessary.  Thanks.

Peter

18 comments

  1. I hope this works, Peter. It appears that the posts used to take down Baen were from an agent provocateur, we will see if the same situation applies to your blog.

  2. Talent, IQ are typically linked to DNA. Why is culture, the inclination/preference for certain social behaviors, not also linked to DNA?

    1. At most you could get a tendency toward certain portions of their brain being different ratios than others, but that doesn't predispose someone to actions of any persuasion – criminal, honest, or apathetic. Culture, both societal and family, however, has a major effect on the development of the brain and the psyche, as does nutritional intake.

  3. J. Texas,

    It's well-known from studies of intelligence, especially among identical twins, that there are differences among the races and between the sexes. The problem is when people assume those lacking in talent, IQ, height, etc. are somehow worth less than than others, and should be interred or eliminated. They should not; everybody has some value if only to thier friends, family, or themselves.

    That kind of thinking lead to the scientific valid field of eugenics. For one study see:

    Robert L. Dugdale, The Jukes: A Study in Crime, Pauperism, Disease, and Heredity
    https://archive.org/details/b21917395

    Politness and tolerance (also firmness), especially when you're not under attack, should be normal in ordinary conversation

  4. Going after Baen is terrifying.

    They have a wide range of political views among their authors.

    And Baens Bar has been around for what, 20 years.

  5. Culture, social norms and genetic background all play a part…
    Some people CANNOT coexist peacefully. In that instance separation/distance is a social ally. In all other instances, mutually agreed upon social norms keep the peace.
    Diversity only works when there is a threat/objective/circumstance that affects all parties equally and simultaneously.
    Our culture was not destroyed by an external enemy. We allowed or society to be infiltrated by malicious actors. Our leaders facilitated the threat in some instances and ignored it in other cases.
    Now we pay the price.
    But, in defense of our society, EVERY government attracts power hungry sociopaths. These things happen when evil people grasp the lever of power. Not if they grasp, WHEN they grasp the levers…

  6. To quote my cocaine, I mean, Michael Caine: “There's only two things I hate in this world. People who are intolerant of other people's cultures and the Dutch.”

  7. Unnecessary name calling is one thing and often is a tool used by the Left to provide the pretext to shut down websites but pretending that culture and race are inseparable is being willfully blind. People on this side of the political spectrum have been protesting their color blindness for decades to no avail. Race is an immutable fact of human existence and there are clear group differences in areas like IQ or more general cognitive ability. We should be dealing with the world as it actually is, not as we wish it were.

  8. Bravo.

    If you need a volunteer moderator, or a team of volunteers, put up a post. I'm sure you have some you know and trust who would help.

  9. Peter,
    bear in mind that there appears to be a progression with blogs that have a comments section. First, they nuke some comments, then they go full moderation, then they shed readers, either with bans, or the visitors stop reading.

    Part of the problem is that one never really knows why the comment didn't see the light of day, and the other is that what might have been okay to start with gets more restrictive as time passes, again with no feedback to the commenter/readers.

    I have removed bookmarks to some blogs that got too far along that trail. Others end up with comments taking multiple days to appear, which tends to kill any interaction. Frankly, the commenters at good blogs are part of the attraction for some of us.

  10. In the interests of helping a very good blog alive for as long as possible in this current climate, our Esteemed Host has the right of it; we ought to tone it down about the Ev Bio stuff. This goes against my autistic preference for observable reality and the work of the Good Reverend Bayes. Still, a little silence here and there in a good cause is not the end of the world.

    (Eppur si muove.)

  11. Wow, Peter, your post is really bringing them out! ("Not racist, but…")

    Too many times it isn't your enemies that screw things up, but your so-called friends.

  12. Anyone who believes that culture is not affected by or indeed, in many cases, driven by genetics should contemplate the long and storied history of dairy farming in Japan

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