Learning a new word

I had never heard the term “shitposting” until yesterday. Those of you who are familiar with the virtual reality scene, and are even vaguely following politics, will know why I find this word so dispiriting.

Yes, we can disagree with one another, and we can argue with each other on the merits. What you believe to be true will not, as a rule, match up to what I believe to be true.

But to use jackboot tactics to squash meaningful discussion — to borrow a playbook right out of a 1932 National Socialist playbook — that’s just disgusting.

It was difficult for me to learn that this sort of thing is being supported by somebody I had thought of as one of us. I tend to believe, perhaps naively, that people on the cutting edge of what is possible are above fascist tactics. That they are about fostering conversation, rather than squashing it before it can begin.

I won’t say who this post is about. Those who know, will know. I will just say that I am terribly disappointed, and very sad.

3 thoughts on “Learning a new word”

  1. Hmm. I tried to post a comment here yesterday in which I happened to repeat the word that is the subject of your post. Nothing earth shattering or worth fussng about. However, since the comment seems never to have appeared, I’m wondering whether perhaps your blog software censors comments containing proscribed words.

  2. Alas, hundreds of spam comments a day are sent automatically to my spam filter, and sometimes real comments get in there too, and then it’s very hard to find them.

    I’ve been approving all political comments that I actually see in my inbox, whether I agree with them or not.

    I do know that a certain four letter word starting with “s” is on my list of blacklisted words, so that’s my best guess about what happened in this case.

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