Thank you for writing this, it's a very important conversation to have.
One of the things I struggle with is how do I, as a white man, respond to bigotry (edit: or other oppression) I see online? When it's one of my friends (and over the years I have called out- and lost- friends who didn't see the problem with making bigoted jokes because "it's not like I believe that") I can bring some social pressure to bear, but how do I respond when it's some asshole trolling? I tend to fall back on "don't feed the trolls" and using a site's moderation tools when available. But what do I do when I run across something like /t/racerealism? The posted articles don't obliquely break site rules, but they're breaking the spirit of the rules.
I also wonder what I, as a libertarian, can do to bring people around to the view that systematic oppression (which doesn't require any government involvement to propagate, although government is most often responsible for propagating it) is not compatible with libertarian philosophy. Learned helplessness will do more to prevent people from trying to exercise their natural rights than any outright ban ever could, and a populace where entire groups are afraid to exercise their rights is not a libertarian society no matter how you look at it.
Wow, some of the articles of /t/racerealism are really quite problematic. You make a good point about violating the spirit of those rules! I think this is perhaps the wrong community for users of that tribe and they will (hopefully) be fazed and filtered out by members of the community.
I also want to add: I was strangely pleased to read that you are a libertarian in support of social justice and inequality! Like everyone else, I come with my own set of prejudices, and as a "left-wing" (dislike this term) socialist...even straight up Marxist in some ways, I have come to unfairly associate libertarianism with right-wing philosophies, including those very much governing oppression. But it's always nice to be reminded of your own prejudices, and see people that challenge them! So I thank you for opening my mind up the slightest bit today. :)
The mod of /t/racerealism hasn't posted anything since, so I'm hoping that you are right.
I will be honest: it is hard to admit I'm a libertarian sometimes. I'm well aware of what the stereotype is, and there is a large minority of vocal people who fit that stereotype. I'm glad I have a safe space to share my views without being attacked for being libertarian on one side and not being libertarian enough on the other. :)
But what do I do when I run across something like /t/racerealism?
I really like /u/AdelleChattre's approach in this snap: cool-headed arguments. Sure, this might not be able to reach OP, but no one reading that thread will afterwards think about taking the advertised blog seriously. And maybe that's a much better outcome than simple censorship would ever have been able to generate.
The main problem with this subject, is that it is inherently American-centric.
As an egaliterian the themes surrounding this subject are so very willing to search for boogiemans. Which leads to a lot of segregation from people that feel attacked for a thing they have never felt a part of.
Personally, I find the notion of white privilige a bit on the silly side. It focuses less on the problems that grow rampid about the stereotypes that are ankered in truths. And I mean this as much for the impoverished rednecks as the uneducated black ghettos.
how do I, as a white man, respond to bigotry (edit: or other oppression)
You respond as every other human should. I don't see how your race matters when you are online if nobody knows what it is. If you see racism, either respond (carefully) or report. Your statement reads (to me personally) like you should watch how you behave because of you are white and "privileged", which seems to be a growing trend.
Thank you for writing this, it's a very important conversation to have.
One of the things I struggle with is how do I, as a white man, respond to bigotry (edit: or other oppression) I see online? When it's one of my friends (and over the years I have called out- and lost- friends who didn't see the problem with making bigoted jokes because "it's not like I believe that") I can bring some social pressure to bear, but how do I respond when it's some asshole trolling? I tend to fall back on "don't feed the trolls" and using a site's moderation tools when available. But what do I do when I run across something like /t/racerealism? The posted articles don't obliquely break site rules, but they're breaking the spirit of the rules.
I also wonder what I, as a libertarian, can do to bring people around to the view that systematic oppression (which doesn't require any government involvement to propagate, although government is most often responsible for propagating it) is not compatible with libertarian philosophy. Learned helplessness will do more to prevent people from trying to exercise their natural rights than any outright ban ever could, and a populace where entire groups are afraid to exercise their rights is not a libertarian society no matter how you look at it.
Wow, some of the articles of /t/racerealism are really quite problematic. You make a good point about violating the spirit of those rules! I think this is perhaps the wrong community for users of that tribe and they will (hopefully) be fazed and filtered out by members of the community. I also want to add: I was strangely pleased to read that you are a libertarian in support of social justice and inequality! Like everyone else, I come with my own set of prejudices, and as a "left-wing" (dislike this term) socialist...even straight up Marxist in some ways, I have come to unfairly associate libertarianism with right-wing philosophies, including those very much governing oppression. But it's always nice to be reminded of your own prejudices, and see people that challenge them! So I thank you for opening my mind up the slightest bit today. :)
The mod of /t/racerealism hasn't posted anything since, so I'm hoping that you are right.
I will be honest: it is hard to admit I'm a libertarian sometimes. I'm well aware of what the stereotype is, and there is a large minority of vocal people who fit that stereotype. I'm glad I have a safe space to share my views without being attacked for being libertarian on one side and not being libertarian enough on the other. :)
I really like /u/AdelleChattre's approach in this snap: cool-headed arguments. Sure, this might not be able to reach OP, but no one reading that thread will afterwards think about taking the advertised blog seriously. And maybe that's a much better outcome than simple censorship would ever have been able to generate.
You bring up a good point. I have a lot to learn from /u/AdelleChattre's example.
The main problem with this subject, is that it is inherently American-centric.
As an egaliterian the themes surrounding this subject are so very willing to search for boogiemans. Which leads to a lot of segregation from people that feel attacked for a thing they have never felt a part of.
Personally, I find the notion of white privilige a bit on the silly side. It focuses less on the problems that grow rampid about the stereotypes that are ankered in truths. And I mean this as much for the impoverished rednecks as the uneducated black ghettos.
You respond as every other human should. I don't see how your race matters when you are online if nobody knows what it is. If you see racism, either respond (carefully) or report. Your statement reads (to me personally) like you should watch how you behave because of you are white and "privileged", which seems to be a growing trend.
It matters because it can turn into white knighting if people aren't careful.