Someone made a quantitative study about the /r/fatpeoplehate ban recently and their conclusion was that the honeypot theory isn't valid and that banning hateful subs causes a reduction in overall hateful behavior instead of just shuffling it around.
The mob tends to be ok with hate if it's directed towards someone they dislike - e.g. you can find on /r/canada 's frontpage people calling Doug Ford's kids fat and ugly.