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Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by Zababa on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @04:56PM (#27597099)
The big difference is that religion usually believes in some kind of forgiveness and repentance. I can't say I see the same things in the current society.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by nine_k on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @05:34PM (#27597517)
Repentance — yes, galore, it's exactly the expexted action from the one accused of transsgression. Write a long blog post condemning the bitter mistake, step out from your post, if you have any.

But on the banner on this religion is not Love, but Justice. So, forgiveness is hard to obtain. It takes either converting into a zealot, or hiding in oblivion. "If God were to show justice instead of His endless grace, we would all end up in Hell", wrote one medieval theologician.

This whole thing is thoroughly medieval, if you look at it at a certain angle. While declaring that it stands for progress, it rejects the values of the Enlightenment much more deeply than many alt-right philosophers who flaunt this rejection.

If you ever wondered what highly westernized Iran might look like before the revolution, this may provide a glimpse. Feeling righteous and rejecting doubt is a powerful and addictive drug :(

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by gentleman11 on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @03:14AM (#27601695)
Reminds me of criminal records. Time in jail is not the real punishment. You have not really paid your dues in this system. You can never be forgiven, you will pay for whatever crime your whole life without respite by being unhirable and all the other side effects. I forget which hn post made me think about this but it’s bugged me for years now
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by Zababa on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @05:46PM (#27597635)
Do you have the source for the quote of the medieval theologian? It's very interesting.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by nine_k on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @06:02PM (#27597782)
Apparently it was Isaac of Niveneh, a Middle Eastern Christian theoligian from 7th century: https://afkimel.wordpress.com/2013/03/17/st-isaac-the-syrian...

I think Christ himself pushes this view in a number of fables and sermons, right in the canonical gospels.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by Zababa on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @06:43PM (#27598240)
Thanks.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by tekknik on Thursday June 24, 2021 @08:37AM (#27616603)
> But on the banner on this religion is not Love, but Justice. So, forgiveness is hard to obtain. It takes either converting into a zealot, or hiding in oblivion.

No, it takes saying some words and then going about your day.

> Feeling righteous and rejecting doubt is a powerful and addictive drug :(

Well that explains your post here! ;)

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by nyokodo on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @08:20PM (#27599172)
> This whole thing is thoroughly medieval

Actually, Medieval Scholastics had a vibrant discourse from a wide array of sources that would look practically libertarian by comparison to contemporary woke discourse. It sounded way more fun too.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by nine_k on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @08:40PM (#27599293)
Scholasticists were careful though not to overstep the dogmata and say heresy. Discussing heresies was very much allowed, as long as they were considered heresies and thus wrong by definition.

Different churches at different times and places were more lenient or more strict, but always kept the One True Faith which could be discussed but not put to doubt. At least, this is how it looks to me after some superficial reading about the topic.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by unyttigfjelltol on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @05:09PM (#27597252)
The structure of a revolution-- it usually begins when the rabble acts up and no authority is willing or able to stop them. So, 1 out of 1,000 users seek quasi-religious vengeance on Twitter and the mechanisms that used to inform the other 999 don't work. The NYT picks up toxic views of the rabble and reports them as mainstream, which the rabble have converted to a weapon in itself.

Most revolutions I've read about, large and small consist of an authentic breakdown in or reorganization of, society. Here and now, seems like we're actually discussing an antifeature of manufactured social technologies combined with capture or weakening of traditional media.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by nine_k on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @05:40PM (#27597568)
I think you mischaracterize these people as "rabble". Many of the vocal "woke" figures are highly educated, highly intellectual, and well-off. Professors, top business officers, high-achieving scientists, writers, engineers.

They do it not because they are stupid, for they are not. They truly believe that what they do is right, that it's the shining path to the better future.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by thaumasiotes on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @06:33PM (#27598117)
> I think you mischaracterize these people as "rabble". Many of the vocal "woke" figures are highly educated, highly intellectual, and well-off. Professors, top business officers, high-achieving scientists, writers, engineers.

That is the actual structure of a revolution. Your parent comment is misguided; revolutions that aren't led by elites are rare and, when they occur, generally don't go anywhere.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peasants%27_Revolt

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by Retric on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @09:07PM (#27599498)
Yes, despite slavery being horrendous and very common there was basically 1 successful slave revolt in all recorded history Haiti. Gaspar Yagna's Rebellion was arguable as they hid and became independent. Spartacus grew to ~120,000 then failed, Zanj Rebellion came closer and still failed.

This is also why killing all the intellectuals after a successful revolution is so popular.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by kingsuper20 on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @09:33PM (#27599703)
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by type0 on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @06:28PM (#27598055)
And most of the worlds biggest atrocities has also been done on "the shining path to the better future".
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by andrepd on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @08:35PM (#27599261)
So have the world's biggest advances, from the Enlightenment, the Scientific Revolution, or the advent of liberal democracies in the past ~200 years.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by raxxorrax on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @06:19AM (#27602809)
This crowd seems to be pretty much against enlightenment values or science or democracy.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by thu2111 on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @06:24AM (#27602844)
None of those things were really the result of some top down utopian master plan, though. The closest might be the enlightenment if you consider the rewards for book finding granted by wealthy benefactors, but it was fundamentally a backward looking "Revolution" that was based on worship of the ancients.

The "scientific revolution", is not really a well known or unambiguous label, the growth of science being a long term trend. And it's worth observing that a major part of the present day corruption of science with the replication crisis, the junk sociological sciences and so on, are the result of an explicit top down utopian plan by governments to make a better tomorrow by funding academics.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by nine_k on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @06:39PM (#27598194)
Exactly my reference :(
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by raxxorrax on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @06:16AM (#27602796)
Some are removed from reality that it might seem like a good idea. I believe them not to be too well informed though and much support stems from the fact that these people don't know what is done under their banner. Bipartisanship in the US heavily influences this too.

Most intellectuals have identified the problem pretty quickly but they also stay mostly silent.

There are also those in high positions without the necessary facilities of course.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by esyir on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @01:26AM (#27601065)
Or perhaps, they do it because its the ideal weapon and means of control. We've seen that "sociopaths in management studies" bit. Wonder how it'd apply to wokism.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by bilbo0s on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @05:26PM (#27597437)
There is no difference. I've heard that Islam and Christianity, as religions, are good and forgiving. I've also witnessed the behavior of actual muslims and christians. I would not call these people good. I certainly wouldn't call them forgiving.

My feeling is that the poster is on the right track. Ideological groups, (not trying to pick on politics, but they are usually political ideologues), have become the new pseudo-religions. As people in the West have fallen away from church, we've witnessed the rise of ideologue communities on the right and left.

You can't argue with them. You can't question them. Some want to kill off half the people in the country. Others want draconian control over the other half.

And people are surprised that the only option available to a reasonable person is to opt-out?

If anything, I think people are being shortsighted in viewing the threat. For some people in the US, this ideology war is not only about a right to speech, it can come down to a right to live. Those people have to oppose the ideologues, or die.

I don't claim to know the solution, I do know that it's a tough, tough problem.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by UnpossibleJim on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @06:15PM (#27597919)
Just like with any belief system, there are many more moderates than zealots. The problem is, zealots help the leaders of those belief systems gain more power. Moderates, for the most part, just want things to keep working and not to feel the lash on their back. When the zealots can't let this happen and the powers that be lose control of the zealots, that's usually when revolution happens =(
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by raxxorrax on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @06:26AM (#27602858)
I don't think they are capable of a revolution at this point. Their wrath can easily be redirected. You don't even have to put up a too convincing target, small overstepping of some arbitrary social rule is enough.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by PontifexMinimus on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @09:24PM (#27599632)
> I've heard that Islam and Christianity, as religions, are good and forgiving. I've also witnessed the behavior of actual muslims and christians. I would not call these people good.

Of course not; the movement isn't the ideology.

Whatever the ideology, the people in it will be flawed and fallible human beings.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by thu2111 on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @06:25AM (#27602853)
Who is saying they want to kill half the population?!
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by giardini on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @12:50PM (#27606668)
thu2111 says "Who is saying they want to kill half the population?!"

He's speaking of mostly apparent desire, not what people have explicitly said (although it is sometimes explicitly said, too). On the surface it would seem to be political suicide to say one wanted, for example,

- all Trump supporters, or

- all woke activists, or

- all conspiracy theorists, or

- all Democrats, or

- all Republicans, or

- all blacks or all whites or all LGBTQ+ etc.

(pick a group)

to be dead. But there is plenty of such talk going around and it is not always cancelled or censored by FAANG and it is sometimes even encouraged. I believe that the OP's observation is correct about a significant part of the population.

Political affiliation and religious affiliation are both beliefs. Wars have been/are being fought over beliefs. There are plenty of quotes by various parties suggesting what should be done with unbelievers at all times through history.

At bottom, isn't everything we know really belief?

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by potatoineyes on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @07:01AM (#27603057)
Yes, if you opt out you are fucked in the long run. It's use force on others so that you can live in peace, join them because you believe, or join them and just lie. There is no moderate option in a globalised internetworked world.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by bilbo0s on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @11:57AM (#27605999)
There's also the possibility of the opt-out'ers just getting smart and offing the ideologues before the ideologues off them. Which, in my view, is the most reasonable course of action if too many of these nut jobs turn to violence.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by PontifexMinimus on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @09:20PM (#27599595)
One of the main difference between Wokism and Christianity, in my opinion, is that in Christianity there is forgiveness, whereas in Wokism you can be endlessly dragged overf the coals for something you said ages ago when you were a teenager: https://pontifex.substack.com/p/no-redemption-for-the-woke
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by Broken_Hippo on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @03:51AM (#27601925)
Just because a concept of forgiveness exists doesn't mean that Christians actually do any of it and some folks simply will never, ever get such a thing: You are expected to start "acting right" before you can consider getting forgiveness. Some churches will banish you from their church if you do the wrong thing, all the while claiming that forgiveness exists.

So, you know, don't be gay or bisexual. Don't be trans. Don't, for any reason, have an abortion. Don't even use birth control. Don't have the audacity to explore other religions or be atheist. If you live in some parts of the world, this stuff might be codified into law. I'm not sure how jail time for abortions shows any sort of forgiveness.

Not exactly forgiveness, but if you happen to have the crime of being poor, you might have forced religion and forced work in a thrift store to earn your charity.

Forgiveness? Hardly.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by tekknik on Thursday June 24, 2021 @08:56AM (#27616783)
And your basing all of this off of experience? Some churches banish you so then all do? Did you read revelations where some groups are not following the word? So you and God have the same complaint. Interesting huh?

Also Christians are not the ones forgiving. You’re asking for forgiveness from God himself. They’re not supposed to judge in the first place. It’s considered a sin. So all you’ve discovered here is literally written in the Bible as a negative.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by boomboomsubban on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @03:47AM (#27601900)
Which side do you think has a larger base of support for the death penalty or for prison reform?
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by echelon on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @09:47PM (#27599829)
I think most people are beginning to hate woke culture. The pendulum is swinging.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by PontifexMinimus on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @10:32PM (#27600134)
I think you are probably right.

Maybe Wokism will mutate into something less virulent. Or maybe the opposition to it will become overwhelming and destroy it.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by shkkmo on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @11:10PM (#27600359)
You seem to have missed the log in your own eye.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by Zababa on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @12:04AM (#27600667)
Another big difference is that, from what I understand, in Christianity everyone bears the original sin. In Wokism, only white males do.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by odiroot on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @05:58AM (#27602680)
You forgot one adjective.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by Zababa on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @01:29PM (#27607289)
Straight? I don't think it's as relevant as it was 5 years ago. Cis? That's one I would agree on. I think you could make a case that "trans is the new gay", at least in their place in society.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by raxxorrax on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @06:23AM (#27602833)
old white men? rich white men?

I think the pattern of animosity is quite clear and nothing special. Same old, same old.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by inglor_cz on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @08:38AM (#27603775)
It is usually "straight white men", although the movement will readily make exceptions for Milo Y. et al.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by raxxorrax on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @09:00AM (#27604029)
Ah, of course, how stupid of me, thanks.
Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by pstuart on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @02:20AM (#27601372)
> The big difference is that religion usually believes in some kind of forgiveness and repentance

Usually? There's boatloads of sermons recorded out that that preach hate and fear. Very selective reasoning on both sides of this equation.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by andrei_says_ on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @09:21PM (#27599604)
I don’t think the major organized religious institutions believe in anything but power and money.

What “Religion” believes in is very hard to define.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by giardini on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @01:02PM (#27606857)
Zababa says "religion usually believes in some kind of forgiveness and repentance. "

Yes, they will forgive you, allow you to repent for your "errors" and then they will burn you at the stake.

Religion is just another belief system.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by giardini on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @02:20PM (#27608070)
All belief systems are the same: communism, christianity, mohammedanism, buddhism, etc.

No organized belief system (includes any religion) is noteworthy for forgiveness and repentance. Such gems as the religious wars in Europe, CCP treatment of Uighurs today, the Inquisition, the Crusades, Genghis Khan, the current Middle East all showed little mercy for unbelievers.

They'll forgive you, maybe let you repent. But then they will kill you, your family, your friends and your business associates.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by nine_k on Wednesday June 23, 2021 @05:07PM (#27610381)
Gengis Khan, afaik, was not a religious fanatic, or even an ethnic supremacist. His army absorbed warriors from different places and of different religions. What he required was fealty, not faith. This is how he built a colossal empire, Earth's largest IIRC.

An empire has to be somehow tolerant towards differences between the many nations it consumes. The process of assimilation, even if forced, can and usually does take centuries.

Faith systems are not like that: they require an immediate conversion, and an immediate and willing following the norms.

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by giardini on Thursday June 24, 2021 @12:26PM (#27619890)
You're quibbling about minor details. Khan was head of a belief system: believe and help him and you might not die. He and his men wanted the tundra cleared of cities. He did it.

nine_k says>""An empire has to be somehow tolerant towards differences between the many nations it consumes. The process of assimilation, even if forced, can and usually does take centuries."<

Khan didn't assimilate, he destroyed. Only after his death and the end of his generation of warriors, was his former empire "assimilated" by groups lucky(?) enough to be alive.

The words "tolerant" and "assimilation" have no place when speaking of the advancement of Gengis Khan's armies out of Mongolia.

Just like "faith systems" today have no tolerance, accept no "repentance" and refuse "assimilation".

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by malandrew on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @09:34PM (#27599720)
Well current society has chosen "struggle sessions". You get forgiveness if you voluntarily admit to some sin and only then if the sin is mild. If you're found out without coming forth with your sins first, you're excommunicated.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Struggle_session

Re:The Most Dangerous Censorship by remram on Tuesday June 22, 2021 @10:32PM (#27600130)
Isn't that the same way religion works? Confession and atonement for minor transgressions, "legal" punishment otherwise?