10A

I have had no interaction with anyone from Hexbear. Personally do not support Russia or the CCP, But I also stand against defederation, regardless of their stances on any topic. It doesn't make someone a "inflammatory troll" just because they hold different opinions than you. Even if there really are inflammatory trolls coming from that server, it should be enough to block them if you personally dislike them. In general, it's healthy to expose ourselves to a wide diversity of opinions, and to respectfully discuss topics with people who disagree with us.

You've got your parties backward, but thank you.

Funny, that image link is 404 Not Found.

I'd love to see an option made available for magazines saying, "Voters must be members", and perhaps "Hide content from /all".

This is part of a larger discussion on moderator pruning.

I think it'd help to start emailing notifications if they're not checked within a certain period of time.

You are authoritarian and you don't even realize it. All of your details are irrelevant. Get off your high horse, and recognize that this is a marketplace of ideas, where all of our ideas are equally valid. Stop trying to silence people. It will end badly for all of us.

Like so many other people in this thread, you are conflating the principle of free speech with the US First Amendment. Do they not teach this stuff in Civics Class anymore? The First Amendment is predicated on free speech. Free speech is fundamental to western civilization. The first Amendment is only applicable to government, whereas the principle of free speech is applicable to everyone in western civilization. We must all uphold free speech for all people, lest western civilization collapses.

In a free society, we have the downvote button for content we personally dislike. You're free to criticize their beliefs, and you're free to try to change their minds. But as soon as you try to silence anyone, you become an enemy of free society. We must all work to uphold western civilization, while realizing that it most certainly will always provide a platform for people (including ourselves) to explore all manner of ideas freely.

It's a confluence of many factors, some of which I already listed, and instead of accepting and seeking knowledge, you rejected my explanation. I'm done replying to you here. Take care.

I know what nationalism is, thank you. I also know what American Exceptionalism is, and it's a well established doctrine, well rooted in fact. I might have failed to explain it well, or maybe you just didn't want to question your preconceived beliefs. Either way, American Exceptionalism is the real deal, and no amount of bickering over it could change my mind. Thank you, though, for sharing your perspective with me.

Here's the thing: I'm tired and headed to sleep. This has been a long and meandering conversation full of disagreements, with no real point. It's a bit exhausting. You're asking me about a topic that has been written about extensively in multiple books and articles. You can look up "American Exceptionalism" if you really want researched facts with academic citations. I was just giving you my honest thoughts, as a rather sleepy individual. I'm sorry those thoughts weren't up to snuff for you.

This interaction is done. You're obviously not a fan of the US, and if you don't live here anyway then you have every right not to be. It's no skin off my back. I wish you all the best. See ya around.

Ha, it's not fascist to click downvote. You wrote something I believed to be false, so I downvoted. If it really hurts your feelings I can take it back. I do enjoy mutually respectful debate. I don't think a downvote is all that disrespectful, and I also don't think we're having much of a debate. (What's the topic exactly?)

By what metric?

By a ton of metrics, but a few that come to mind off the top of my head:

• We're predominantly Christian, and that's not an official religion like in some other countries, but actual self-reported religious affiliation.
• People flock here from all over the world for our freedom, and always have since our inception.
• Our Constitution was the first to establish that God-given rights are the basis for a free people's self-governance, and that constitution has been imitated worldwide, though never paralleled.
• Our culture of self-defense makes us impossible to invade, because most people are armed and more than ready to take down attackers.
• We invented almost every useful technology that has been invented since our inception, including this here internet and the electrical generators that power it.
• We invented country music. 'Nuff said.