This board has turned into a pretty revolting place.

Sadly it is reflective of wider society as a whole.

Some perspective is required, so that we can understand the consequences of calling people names like "Nazi" and "extremist" and "Far-Right" for holding beliefs that 99% of the world agrees with, and have been almost universally held since the dawn of human civilisation.

Nazism is the bogeyman of our culture. Many of our ancestors died fighting it because it stands against what we as a culture believe in - respect for individual rights against the state, freedom of speech, equality before the law, tolerance of different views and suchlike. It led to widespread murder and death, the destruction of a continent, unleashing the worst side of the human psyche.

Using that name on someone who, for example, agrees (in common with almost every country and citizen in the world outside Europe or America) that we should control our borders is not cool. Its very far from cool, because Nazism is something that we all know must be fought, and has been fought with bombs and bullets. It's a call to arms.

I get that we all get angry and emotional online, but this trend is out of hand. We need to relearn how to have a debate without calling each other names. If we cant do that we are sunk as a society. Be civil and kind and respect people's views without dehumanising them with Nazi slurs. Keep the good things we have in this country.

If you are angry with politics and want to call people Nazis, do it to your teddy bear in the privacy of your own home, otherwise you are adding to all of our problems.

Or just stick to footy chat. God help us if people pollute that with name-calling too.

Posted By: fal5taff, Sep 11, 06:52:28