I'm reminded of a story I read online some time ago.
A guy has moved into a new town. He's found himself a new bar, and he makes a regular habit of coming in, sitting at the bar, and having a drink.
One day, another newcomer comes in. I forget the specific description of his aesthetic, but he had a Nazi tattoo somewhere visible on his person. He comes in, says Hello, and politely asks for a drink.
Immediately, the barkeep tells him to f@#! off. "Get the f@#! out," he says.
The neo-Nazi leaves without a fuss. This confuses the new guy - the neo-Nazi was, it seemed, courteous and friendly, and wasn't saying or doing anything to cause any trouble. So the new guy asks why the barkeep decided to toss him out.
The barkeep replies, simply, that you've got to nip it in the bud before they get comfortable. Because it's never just one, and they're never just friendly. If you don't kick them out immediately, they invite a friend. Then another friend. And before long, you have a bar full of Nazis and white supremacists, making things extremely uncomfortable for everyone else.
Now, the interesting thing is that this also happens online. You get your alt-right types joining forums for subjects they like. They're passionate about the topic. They have interesting points to raise about the topic. Maybe they're funny, or charming, or pleasant to chat with. And then, in the corners and seams and margins, they start bringing up their ideology. Or they start "Just Asking Questions" and playing Devil's Advocate about things like welfare or the Holocaust.
Studies show that this is a common recruitment tactic amount the right - they put forward heinous points and believes under the guise of "Just Asking Questions", then get defensive when you call them on it. They want people to see their points, because maybe it'll encourage people to think like them. They want people who disagree with them to
debate their points, because it
legitimizes them. And when they can see they aren't getting any real pushback or resistance from the community, or from the Admins and Mods of a forum, they can invite more people. Because hey, it's safe to question vaccines here. It's safe to ask whether the Holocaust ever happened. Nobody is pushing back on their use of terms like "SJW", nobody stops them from posting the N-word without warning.
Those same studies show that the only way, the
only effective means of stopping the spread of alt-right activity on a forum or in a community when somebody challenges the ecosystem like that, is the same approach that barkeep took in that story - you silence them. You tell them to f@#! off, to get the f@#! out. You nip it in the bud before it becomes a problem.
Off-topic is fine... within reason. So long as there is civility, so long as there are limits, and as long as anybody who even pushes up against those boundaries is shown the door - politely or otherwise. You nip it in the bud before the entire place turns into a Nazi bar.
You cannot tolerate that kind of intolerance.
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