I’ll say my piece then I will let it go.
Yesterday I was surprised, and disappointed, to learn that apparently ALL of gmoneypenny’s posts had been deleted. Although I disagreed with WHAT he was saying, I will defend his right to say it.
Many of you know, I have been a huge critic of LieHub. However, I am critical of them because of the censorship they practice there, not the content of the posts. As much as I despise the basher’s comments, mischaracterizations, distortions, and outright lies over there… it’s the censorship that is the most despicable action over there. One of the bedrock principals of this country is the First Amendment Freedom of Speech Clause. If pro-PNCH posts were allowed to stand over there, the basher’s posts would be far less effective at running down PNCH.
Many here, and certainly myself, are critical of LieHub for deleting pro-PNCH posts simply because they are pro-PNCH. Now, it appears… this board has done the same thing, only in reverse… posts that are Unfavorable to PNCH have been deleted. I see no difference between the two actions. Are we that afraid of opposing views that we delete such so they can not be seen? Yes, what gmoneypenny said many disagreed with, including myself, and some may have found distasteful, however I don’t recall that anything within the post was a flagrant violation of the board’s TOS (since his posts were deleted I can’t go back and validate my recollection), no more so than some I have seen stand here. I also don’t recall any vulgarity or mean spirited character assassinations. He did express strong unfavorable opinions about Steve’s truthfulness… but that was an opinion. And yes he repeated it perhaps too often over several posts.
However, in spite of all the above, does this board really want to follow in the footsteps of LieHub and start deleting posts that are unfavorable to PNCH, or that some don’t like? Are we that insecure in the support of PNCH that we need to delete negative opinions of the company? I suspect this has happened in the past and perhaps I just never realized to what extent it was happening. If I recall correctly, I think some of 34th’s unfavorable posts were deleted also. It is understandable why LieHub deletes pro-PNCH posts… they simply have no valid defense to the truth, therefore they need to suppress the truth in order to forward their negative opinions. However, pro-PNCH posters have no problem defending negative posters over here because the truth is on our side, and we are free to express such.
It seemed to me that the responders to gmoneypenny’s posts were doing a great job at defending the company, CEO, and their points of view. They were pointing out many aspects of the company and CEO that disproved gmoneypenny’s assertions. In fact, gmoneypenny’s posts allowed other readers to see and understand aspects of the CEO and company that perhaps they would have not known, or remembered. So in that regard, negative posts can cause the dissemination of an ever greater amount of positive information for others to read. Also, posts left to stand are a permanent record that can be referred back to if and when needed.
So, do we want to take the same actions here, that we condemn on LieHub? Is there really any need to delete unfavorable posts here, given all the positive truth we have at our disposal to rebut any negative posts, and the ability of PNCH supporters to defend the company? Think back to when one of the LieHub bashers tried to make an appearance over here… they were swatted down like a rogue bee at a picnic. I think we can hold our own extremely well in the face of opposition, such that there is no need to start down the slippery slope of censorship.
That’s my two-cents. I’ll climb down off my soapbox now. I just felt the need to speak my piece. (I hope I’m not deleted)
