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A comment on The Efficacy of Reddit’s 2015 Ban Examined Through Hate Speech [pdf]. Parent comment

Re:The Efficacy of Reddit’s 2015 Ban Examined Through Hate S... by grzm on Monday September 11, 2017 @03:03PM (#15221230)
It's tough. I'd encourage you to take a step back and reflect on arguments used from many positions. Currently a lot of discourse is breaking down and polarization increasing because of a lack of reflection and understanding one's own biases and the arguments one's making and where they're coming from. No one has a monopoly on bad faith (unless you're considering humanity as a whole). I've found Jonathan Haidt's The Righteous Mind[0] to be really insightful and useful in this regard, particularly if one has a goal of effecting meaningful change.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Righteous_Mind

Edit: Re-reading this, it's coming off harsher than intended. I likely need to eat something. Apologies.

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Re:The Efficacy of Reddit’s 2015 Ban Examined Through Hate S... by mfoy_ on Monday September 11, 2017 @03:18PM (#15221395)
I'm not saying anyone has a monopoly on bad faith. Your rebuke isn't overly harsh. If your criticisms were more pointed I may have a more directed response... but I'm not sure exactly what you have in mind when you say "discourse is breaking down", etc.

(EDIT: I'm perfectly aware I'm generalizing and speaking of stereotypes when I say "average alt-right person", but Sartre wasn't exactly describing separate individuals either...)

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Re:The Efficacy of Reddit’s 2015 Ban Examined Through Hate S... by grzm on Monday September 11, 2017 @03:22PM (#15221432)
Are those generalizations useful and constructive, particularly in this case? I'd argue strongly no. In fact, I'd argue they're actively counter-productive. One of the self-described reasons for the feeling of alienation that many have expressed is exactly this type of generalization. If you have a goal of working against, this, it seems that you're actually reinforcing it when you do so.
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Re:The Efficacy of Reddit’s 2015 Ban Examined Through Hate S... by mfoy_ on Monday September 11, 2017 @03:33PM (#15221532)
I think if those generalizations let us draw a useful parallel to a historical example, we can note the similarities (and differences) and apply lessons learned from that era to our own.

(Not that Sartre included a chapter called "How to Have Avoided The Whole Affair" in his book...)

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