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I just got an official response from mastodon.social over someone from bofa trying to get us silenced for being free speech oriented.
I got an official response from the moderators over there and told #QOTO will NOT be silenced. They did not find any justification for the report.
@freemo I'm not familiar with this matter at all. Can I ask what bofa is?
bofa.lol is a mastodon instance.
And I quote their site "Where the bofa.lol roam. A refuge for shitposting leftist birdsite exiles. Home of the Fightin' Phone Weasels."
Loud emphasis on "shitposting"
@commandelicious @hashtaggrammar @freemo I have trouble understanding people who want to silence differing opinions because it makes them uncomfortable.
Personally, I'd rather know where people stand in relation to myself. It allows dialogue. Gotta face that cognitive dissidence someday.
@Surasanji @commandelicious @freemo I agree with you completely, and I love to debate. However, unfortunately I do think lately, here in the US anyway, there hasn't been much distinction between "opinions" (of say, a policy matter or how to fix issues) and actual values that our country was founded on. I miss the days when I could just debate gun policy, abortion, tax policy here in the US rather than feeling like instead I'd like to remind people that marginalized groups deserve to be treated like people. That's just where I draw the line, you know?
@hashtaggrammar Can't argue with any of that. The lack of healthy debate in the USA is a good part of why i left.
@hashtaggrammar @Surasanji
Don't go into politics Commandelicious, just don't ... :D
I am very happy to have you here @freemo
This is brain drain. And you have a beautiful one at that <3
@commandelicious @Surasanji @freemo Well let's put it another way. I guess the contrarian in me is always at work, so another part of me is like...what if you're a pedophile and you want a safe space to talk about wanting to act on your impulses? Are we just going to be like... you do you, boo?
The line does need to be drawn somewhere, no?
@hashtaggrammar
That would violate our policy as physical harm to another. We certainly have a line and have banned people who crossed it.
@freemo @commandelicious @Surasanji Some things are just unquestionable. I'm basically saying, I'll debate differing opinions all day long as long... as they aren't bigoted views. In real life I've had successful debates; a few months ago I even got a Vietnam Vet wearing a MAGA shirt to admit he'd vote for Michelle Obama. ;) I reject the notion that engaging with the other side is totally pointless, and I actually usually feel like a minority with that opinion in my real life.
@hashtaggrammar @freemo Yes! I'd bet that I'm of fairly different perspectives on a lot of issues with you, but we share a value in reaching across and actually communicating with people who are of differing views.
I start with the belief that people are doing the best they know how for the best they know of in pursuit of, what is probably a shared goal somewhere, and those shared goals allow us to communicate.
Sadly our US politicians now sound like anonymous commenters on a polarized website; I'd like to be the opposite.
I now regularly have very enjoyable and (I think) productive discussions about politics with people who have never voted the same way as I have. I've learned and hopefully they have as well. There's much to be gained by being excellent to each other and being willing to engage rather than ban.
Of course there's a line - I've heard it called "The Overton Window", the range of ideas tolerated in public discourse; but I think we really ought to have as wide of an overton window as possible. Just because I think something is a bad idea, doesn't mean discussion of it should be banned.
If I'm not allowed to discuss my ideas, I am less likely to understand if they're wrong or could use adjustment. I may be not allowed legally or by formal banning or public shaming, or whatever, so I tend to be opposed to all of those.
