Re:Quinn Norton: The New York Times Fired My Doppelgänger
by acdha on Wednesday February 28, 2018 @08:56AM
(#16482958)
Your first sentence is a claim I wasn’t making.
“friend” implies more that just knowing someone – there’s some common cause, attraction, etc. which separates friends from mere acquaintances. Maybe she used the word incorrectly but it really reads like she treats this as something like an unpopular political view or that obnoxious proselytizing vegan who keeps trying to convert people at Thanksgiving. This is consistent with her pattern of defending and minimizing weev: he’s not a neo-Nazi, just a troll; he’s just an asshole; he’s no hero but many of our heroes wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny either; etc.
People who know people with offensive views tend not to do that. They might still talk to someone, especially family, but they don’t defend that person’s beliefs. That racist uncle might not be completely banned but he’s told not to say anything, etc.
Your comparison to vegans is interesting because of how poorly it fits: vegans do not go around calling for violence against other people. Vegans don’t say that entire races or religions should be exterminated. Most of the vegans I know don’t even try to push their beliefs on others – they may talk about it if you want but, being decent people, they’re not going to walk around shouting “meat is murder” at you. That seems several levels below a guy who hounds people offline (remember Norton soft-peddling her friends attacking Kathy Sierra?) and has a swastika tatto with the beliefs to back it up.
“friend” implies more that just knowing someone – there’s some common cause, attraction, etc. which separates friends from mere acquaintances. Maybe she used the word incorrectly but it really reads like she treats this as something like an unpopular political view or that obnoxious proselytizing vegan who keeps trying to convert people at Thanksgiving. This is consistent with her pattern of defending and minimizing weev: he’s not a neo-Nazi, just a troll; he’s just an asshole; he’s no hero but many of our heroes wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny either; etc.
People who know people with offensive views tend not to do that. They might still talk to someone, especially family, but they don’t defend that person’s beliefs. That racist uncle might not be completely banned but he’s told not to say anything, etc.
Your comparison to vegans is interesting because of how poorly it fits: vegans do not go around calling for violence against other people. Vegans don’t say that entire races or religions should be exterminated. Most of the vegans I know don’t even try to push their beliefs on others – they may talk about it if you want but, being decent people, they’re not going to walk around shouting “meat is murder” at you. That seems several levels below a guy who hounds people offline (remember Norton soft-peddling her friends attacking Kathy Sierra?) and has a swastika tatto with the beliefs to back it up.