Should Forums Remove Dehumanising Posts?

[Eater Sundae 12]

Not referencing any event in particular, but I’m becoming more and more uneasy about how easily we (me included) can refer to certain groups of people, or persons who have committed certain crimes in very dehumanising ways...

vermin,

animals,

rats,

etc.

 

Isn’t it time we stopped, and at the same time call out any politician, collumnist, media person etc when they do?

[Happ 25]

Definitely not.

[Baron99 779]

44 minutes ago, Happ said:

Definitely not.

I'm with Happ on this one. 

 

It might be a case of "But for the grace of God, go I", but if a law abiding citizen can't put themselves above & use derogatory terms against a pensioner robbing mugger or a convicted paedophile, then what is the world coming too.   Such terms as vermin aren't going to affect such filth. 

 

By all means Eater Sundae, if you want to treat the convicted scum of this world as your equals, then that's your perogative. 

[pattricia 574]

6 hours ago, Eater Sundae said:

Not referencing any event in particular, but I’m becoming more and more uneasy about how easily we (me included) can refer to certain groups of people, or persons who have committed certain crimes in very dehumanising ways...

vermin,

animals,

rats,

etc.

 

Isn’t it time we stopped, and at the same time call out any politician, collumnist, media person etc when they do?

That is what a Forum is for.

[Halibut 12]

No, it shouldn't.  

[L00b 441]

Some interesting replies, given the OP's reference to certain "groups of people" (ie not necessarily those committing the most heinous crimes, nor even criminals at all)...

 

...and the increasingly-legitimised use of strong names exactly like 'vermin' by top level politicians in social media, to designate certain groups of (non-criminal, but ideologically-opposed) people (to say nothing of the now-very-widespread-and-open use of these same epiteths by xenophobes likewise in social media, to designate immigrants and other targets pointed to them by the usual hate-mongers).

 

No wonder your society has become so polarised, and is still only getting more so. You're letting your society fill itself with ever more hate, de-humanising the stooge-designate of the moment ever faster and easier, without seeing any need for any sort of checks and balances at any point.

Edited August 9, 2019 by L00b

[Eater Sundae 12]

Once they’ve been dehumanised, it becomes emotionally much easier to deny them human rights

Edited August 9, 2019 by Eater Sundae

[Guest makapaka]

2 hours ago, Halibut said:

No, it shouldn't.  

Because?

[tinfoilhat 11]

11 minutes ago, makapaka said:

Because?

He can't slag off people he doesn't agree with.

[Halibut 12]

17 minutes ago, tinfoilhat said:

He can't slag off people he doesn't agree with.

Of course I can - one doesn't need to use dehumanising language to do that. Although referring to people as cockroaches, vermin, rats etc is often indicative of a truly abhorrent, hate filled mentality, I don't think it should be banned. Mostly because I think banning things is a bad idea in general, with some exceptions.

[L00b 441]

22 hours ago, Halibut said:

Of course I can - one doesn't need to use dehumanising language to do that. Although referring to people as cockroaches, vermin, rats etc is often indicative of a truly abhorrent, hate filled mentality, I don't think it should be banned. Mostly because I think banning things is a bad idea in general, with some exceptions.

Yours is a laudable, liberal stance on the topic.

 

But the issue with it, is that the more such language is used, the more it is normalised.

 

And there isn't any moral policing, informally enforced by the local collective and/or a moral authority (as the local clergy used to be), to check it any more. Standards-free social media for all has put paid to moral propriety.

 

So it runs unchecked and, unsurprisingly, eventually an MP gets killed, many MPs get physically threatened (Soubry, notoriously), people with the wrong job title (paediatrician) or with the wrong accent (east european, asian, ...) or with the wrong tshirt (<removed>to Brexit) get assaulted in the street, etc.

 

So, how does your liberal self propose to defuse this gradual normalisation of dehumanizing language?

 

Or do you think that is a problem which does not need addressing pro-actively and will solve itself, somehow?

Edited August 10, 2019 by nikki-red

[Halibut 12]

2 minutes ago, L00b said:

 

 

So, how does your liberal self propose to defuse this gradual normalisation of dehumanizing language?

 

Or do you think that is a problem which does not need addressing pro-actively and will solve itself, somehow?

By vigorously challenging it whenever it presents itself.