Yes, it was a little hyperbolic, but again, my point is that just because I follow him, doesn't mean I agree with everything he posts or says, and I don't think it's morally wrong to expose oneself to conflicting or even hateful ideas; those are the kind of ideas that make me angry and impassioned. If we want to extend the "mold" metaphor here, I like to think of myself someone who studies all the different kinds of mold, who can tell the different species apart, and perhaps even identify the difference between mold and just really ugly wallpaper. Back in high school, I used to spend a lot of time seeking out Christians on the internet with hateful opinions against gay people (I'm gay, btw), trying to understand where they were coming from, sometimes arguing against them. It was often futile, but occasionally I would find people who could still hold a respectful discussion, and I'd like to think that I (and the people I engaged with) grew from those experiences. In college, I would often listen to this preacher who would come on campus to preach "Christianity," but really it was mostly sexism, racism, bigotry, and anti-intellectualism; one of my favorite pastimes was standing there between classes and listening to him, sometimes arguing with his supporters. I liked to hear the arguments, seeing which ones were strong, which ones were weak, sometimes laughing at the angry ones who would just shout an obscenity in response. It wasn't for everyone, my partner hated even being around him, which is just different strokes for different folks. Sure, on one hand he was getting the audience and attention that he craved, and even the negativity he received probably only served to reinforce some deep-seated persecution complex, but I think in the long run, he only hurt his cause. If you want to tar me for following him, or not blocking him, or for being a white cis male, by all means, go right ahead, I'll be the last person to stop you. For the record, I'm in favor of making it more public when someone has a bunch of people blocked or muted, so we can see the people who carefully curate echo chambers in their posts. This idea has been discussed and the admins seem to have good reasons for not implementing it, so perhaps there are different solutions.
You say you follow him to expand awareness, or keep enemies close kinda thing. I get that. I lurked MRA back when I used reddit. This is different. He trolls a tag, posting things that are exactly opposite of that tag on purpose to rile and offend. Then you share it. You've not only given him the soapbox he wants, but you've actually propagated it around to people who follow you. And worst of all, I see no actual shares of any feminism related content. You say you follow a contrarian viewpoint, but all the evidence points to exactly the opposite. You were the 3rd person I filtered on hubski. I took you off that list recently because it seemed like you'd chilled out, but after this discussion I'm going to take a break for a bit. I'm not going to mute you because I don't want to force you out of my posts, but please don't make me reconsider that. I'll check back in a while and maybe in the future we can get along better. In the meantime, why not try following users like tla instead of toxic jerks? From your debate style and post history, I think there's a lot more you could learn there. or for being a white cis male
C'mon dude. Not cool. I have no problem with white guys, why is that information even relevant? This is the same baiting as the crime comment. Stop it.
Right, but c'mon, it's your right to block or filter whoever you want for whatever reason you want. I'm not saying you in particular have a problem with white cis males, but if someone did, they're within their rights to act on it. That is the framework this site gives you. You don't have to listen to someone you don't like if it bothers you that much. I'm not sure what you mean here. Am I supposed to share posts I find offensive? I may read it, I may comment on it, but if I don't think it's worthwhile to propagate it, I won't share it to those who follow me. The only soapbox he has is the one he makes for himself. I have my own soapbox and it is mine, not his or yours. If you don't like the stuff grendel shares, filter him. If you don't like what I share, filter me. If you don't like what either of us share, then filter us both! Is this rocket science, or am I just taking crazy pills!? If you want to go through and filter everyone who follows grendel, then be my guest. Hell, I'd recommend filtering everyone who follows someone who follows grendel, just to be safe since you sound particularly thin skinned. Can't be too safe these days, but that's up to you, obviously. Go right ahead and filter me, don't let my contributions to this site annoy you if that's the way you feel. If you want to mute me because you don't like what I have to say or how I say it, I won't feel offended, and you shouldn't feel bad. I'm honest about my opinions and I know there is always something I can learn from other people; I never allow myself to make rude insults, but apparently that rubs some people the wrong way. I try not to judge other people and tell them what they can learn, I'd rather focus on what I can learn, but that's just me. The three tla posts I can see in her or his profile (petski fluff, shitstirring, and Hillary propaganda from WSJ) do not inspire me to follow that person yet, though. C'mon dude. Not cool. I have no problem with white guys, why is that information even relevant? This is the same baiting as the crime comment. Stop it.
And worst of all, I see no actual shares of any feminism related content. You say you follow a contrarian viewpoint, but all the evidence points to exactly the opposite.
You were the 3rd person I filtered on hubski. I took you off that list recently because it seemed like you'd chilled out, but after this discussion I'm going to take a break for a bit. I'm not going to mute you because I don't want to force you out of my posts, but please don't make me reconsider that. I'll check back in a while and maybe in the future we can get along better. In the meantime, why not try following users like tla instead of toxic jerks? From your debate style and post history, I think there's a lot more you could learn there.