Someone just left a string of anti-Semitic comments on an old post of mine. It is one of those posts that still gets a reasonable amount of traffic because it ranks high on some apparently popular google searches. So, do I delete the comments?
Part of me wants to leave them up for posterity's sake. But I've become attuned to how hideous comment trolling can really affect people's sense of well-being on the internet, and I don't want to contribute (particularly since random folks who aren't regular readers might come across the post). Advice?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
6 comments:
I'm of the mind that anti-semetic comments tend to speak for themselves and are useful for exposing the moral and intellectual bankrupcy of the commentor and the arguments.
I would recommend writing your own short reply to the comments and then perhaps making all further comments on that post, or perhaps your entire blog, by moderation only. Though, it really depends on exactly what the comments say.
Free speech need not accomodate hate speech.
If the comments are antisemitic, aren't they, by definition, hate speech?
As for actual advice, I guess it depends on how bad the stuff is, particularly if your main concern is that hypothetical future readers who might get triggered by it.
Your blog is a personal space into which you invite your guests (readers). If they can't be civil guests, they should be asked to leave the party.
This is not a free speech issue. Your blog is private property; your rules of conduct apply.
This blog is, in a sense, "your place". If you find the remarks objectionable, delete them. I wouldn't hesitate to boot someone out of my house if I thought they were offensive, let alone anti-semitic. C ettinson nailed it when he said "free speech need not accomodate hate speech"
Post a Comment