Comment by tradesmanhelix | Hacker News Reader

Comment by tradesmanhelix | Hacker News Reader

While I definitely don't support these people, I do have to point out:

The problem with the approach taken by Google & Co. is that it criminalizes beliefs, regardless of whether or not adherents have taken illegal actions based on their beliefs.

If people 1) believe something, and 2) perform illegal actions based on their beliefs, a free society can punish #2. However, a free society can neither outlaw nor punish #1 without sinking into some form of despotism.

Liberty need not approve of all that she protects, and the best way to combat bad ideas is with better ideas, not censorship. Kudos to the EFF for raising an important point.

Strange. Quite a few countries manage to outlaw and punish (expressions of) Nazi beliefs, without "sinking into despotism".

Actually, the country many people are very concerned about now happens to be the country that is a free-for-all when it comes to Neo-Nazism and White Supremacy.

Isn't punishing beliefs (right or wrong) a characteristic of despotism?

In the same way that eating bread is a characteristic of a circus clown.

Google has not criminalized anything, certainly not beliefs. A different word might suit your argument better.

criminalize

    v. To impose a criminal penalty on or for; outlaw.
    v. To treat as a criminal.

I suppose the idea of "outlawing beliefs" might be more fitting. In any case, outlawing or criminalizing, isn't the result is the same?

Maybe a better response by Google: For any searches that would turn up these detestable sites, include some contrasting/opposing results. Balance it out - show how stupid the Neo-Nazi arguments really are using sites with well-reasoned counter-arguments. My concern is that flat out removal just allows the scoundrels to cast themselves as victims and sets some bad precedents.

[1] https://duckduckgo.com/?q=define+criminalize&t=ffab&ia=defin...

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