wejo wrote:
I saw this thread and wanted to start a discussion within it: should we ban the name "Liberalism = a mental disorder"?
It is disrespectful on the surface. I'm fine with people having different political views but by having such a name the poster is a) disrespectful and b) makes it so posters are going to be more incendiary in their response.
It would be better if we could have our disagreements on the forum with a more civil tone.
So what do you all think? Ban the name?
If moderators would delete a thread titled "Liberalism = mental disorder" or "Conservativism = mental disorder" then I think that would be a fair and consistent answer.
I'm on the side that feels that there is value to setting some guidelines on language and personal attacks. I don't feel it is censorship to have these minimal standards. One can read YouTube comments, or this board after the recent shootings, to see what happens online when there are no such standards.
Even among those who oppose getting rid of the name, I can't imagine more than one or two appreciate the low level incendiary discourse that this establishes. These are topics that are divisive enough already, they can certainly be discussed without the additional baiting and added hostility. LRC members are able to engage thoughtfully on plenty topics, though I can't remember any topics about politics that haven't resorted to basic juvenile name calling both ways. More broadly, seeing such inflammatory threads nearly always near the top of the first page feels out of place and I have to imagine it turns plenty of people away, regardless of political affiliation or whether they agree, as it's not pleasant having name calling and politics shoved in your face at all times.