Notices by Michela Marie 🏳️‍🌈 (michelamarie@mastodon.social), page 4

@mprymek Ah, but that's not what I was referring to. 🙂

I was referring to how some people argue against climate change. They try as hard as they can to dispute the evidence, pretend it doesn't exist, or pretend that global heating is normal & not something to worry about.

I'm glad to hear that you "tend to agree" with me, while the severity and urgency of these issues is gravely serious -- hate speech is likely at it's highest point since the 1930s. They should be taken as such.

Interesting (and awful) article on fascist and extreme-right content on #Youtube, and how the Youtube algorithm gets people to watch it -- lots and lots of it.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/08/technology/youtube-radical.html

#surveillanceeconomy #google

Interesting article on fascist and extreme-right content on #Youtube, and how the Youtube algorithm gets people to watch it -- lots and lots of it.

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/06/08/technology/youtube-radical.html

#surveillanceeconomy #google

Fantastic news. We should have all done this a long time ago.

"Canada will ban 'harmful' single-use plastics as early as 2021"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jun/10/canada-ban-single-use-plastics-bags-bottles-straws-2021

#environment #plastic #waste #wildlife #Canada #Cdnpoli

@mprymek This argument reminds me of that of those who refuse to acknowledge global heating / climate change.

Global heating an unpleasant and "inconvenient" truth. So some refuse to acknowledge it, and they try their damnedest to seek out any other possible explanation for the situation at hand.

Meanwhile, the planet is undergoing ecological break-down, and fascism is rapidly on the rise.

We can band together and act now, heading off calamity, or we can quibble while the Earth burns.

@mprymek Well, if you would like to see more evidence, or different evidence -- and you are truly interested in learning more about this -- I'll leave you to do your own research.

Before leaving you to do your research, I remind you that correlation and coincidence are entirely different things. A coincidence could be a reason for a single given corollary event, but not in the case of macro-level data like this.

@renich Perhaps, you believe the "price" of banning hate speech too high because you are not among the marginalised people that are directly affected by it.

If you don't have to worry as much about discrimination or violent attacks, yourself, you would have to exercise empathy to understand the situation

The problem is definitely not the "frailness" of victims of hate crimes. The problem is people who perpetuate such crimes.

I hope you do read those sources, I think doing so would be helpful.

@renich

Your assertion that banning hate speech will lead to a stifling of differing non-hateful views is called a slippery slope fallacy (see https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/tools/lp/Bo/LogicalFallacies/162/Slippery_Slope). It is simply not true.

Your comment, "But trying to control what speech is around... will only lead to the creations of havens." does not make sense.

It seems I must say yet again, this is not at all about sensitivity to offense. It is about hate, bigotry, discrimination, violence.

@mprymek

The following is taken from my response to someone else on this topic:

There's tonnes of information and statistics available, which clearly demonstrate the very real, and grave, harm caused by hate speech.

Here are just a few articles about the topic to get you started:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-rise-of-hate-crimes-can-be-tied-directly-to-hateful-speech

https://impakter.com/hurt-feelings-real-danger-hate-speech/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/30/how-online-hate-speech-is-fueling-real-life-violence/

If you need more information, there's lots more online and in libraries.

@mprymek

The following is taken from my response to someone else on this topic:

There's tonnes of information and statistics available, which clearly demonstrate the very real, and grave, harm caused by hate speech.

Here are just a few articles about the topic to get you started:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-rise-of-hate-crimes-can-be-tied-directly-to-hateful-speech

https://impakter.com/hurt-feelings-real-danger-hate-speech/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018

If you need more information, there's lots more online and in libraries.

@carlesjove That's awful. Hopefully, it encourages you to increase your participation in politics, activism, and civic life.

We must push back against this recent prominence of fascism around the world. The consequences of not doing so would be utterly grave.

@carlesjove Our laws in Canada are drafted this way. One is absolutely free to criticise the government or our monarch, while hate speech is banned.

@carlesjove Well, here's the thing: forbidding hate speech is not the same as forbidding speech that is critical of others or the government, and one does not lead to the other.

So laws can easily be drafted that ban actual hate speech but explicitly permit freedom of expression and criticism of government figures, as long as it does not contain threats or calls to violence.

#Canada's economy keeps booming. Yet another clear sign we definitly do not need a new tar sands pipeline.

"Canada's jobless rate drops to 5.4%, lowest level in 43 years"

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/may-jobs-statscan-1.5166200

#Canada #Cdnpoli #economy #employment #jobs

@renich Of course, you don't have to take my word for it, you can actually read objective facts about this from many other sources if you want to get at the truth and really understand how hate speech is a problem.

There's tonnes of information and statistics available, which clearly demonstrate the very real, and grave, harm caused by hate speech.

Here are just a few articles about the topic to get you started:

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-rise-of-hate-crimes-can-be-tied-directly-to-hateful-speech

https://impakter.com/hurt-feelings-real-danger-hate-speech/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2018/11/30/how-online-hate-speech-is-fueling-real-life-violence/

@renich We can't do much about people's thoughts, apart from educating them to understand that all people equal. The concern is around what people say and do. Words can and do cause harm.

Again, this is not at all about "offense" or "unpopular" opinions. It's about preventing actual harm to people and society, often to the most vulnerable -- minority ethnicities, LGBTQ+ people, and the differently abled, to name a few. When hate speech rises, they suffer the most -- sometimes fatally.

@renich Almost nothing is "universal." This is why lawmakers and judges use data and facts compiled and analysed in the public interest to establish definitions for everything that all laws cover.

It's not simply about differing opinions. The problem is with regard to actual harm caused. Hate speech causes real, tangible, measurable harm to people and society.

People who express hate speech don't just have a "different" point of view, they are bigoted -- racist, homophobic, or antisemetic, etc

This is not about whether speech offends others or not. We are specifically talking about hate speech

Hate speech causes actual measurable harm and makes the world less safe, particularly for the world's more vulnerable -- minority ethnicities, women, LGBTQ+ people, the differently abled to name a few

Hate speech promotes inequality and stokes violence. One can ignore hate speech, but the problem isn't that you or I hear it per se. It is that some will hear it and commit violence or other harm

"Moving the body, boosting the mind: #running your way to better mental health"

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2019/mar/04/moving-the-body-boosting-the-mind-running-your-way-to-better-mental-health

#health #fitness #mentalhealth #athletics

@renich I'm nothing like an extremist. Censorship of hate speech is normal and ethical.

You are using free speech as cover to allow bigoted harassment -- that's extreme.

There are regulations throughout society, covering nearly all aspects of life. We live in a civil society governed by the rule of law (at least I do). Laws (especially those banning hate speech) protect everyone's rights to live freely in peace, regardless of their ethnicity, gender, sexuality, religion, or other traits.