55 Comments
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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

Hello!

There will be order in this comments section. The ban hammer is hot and ready, so don't fuck it up.

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David Perlmutter's avatar

Yes, Your Honor....

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Boostershots's avatar

Ok, so you just banned "IsThisTheRoomForAnArgument" in your own comment section for offering some opinions you disagree with, (no foul language or threats or anything even close), but you also wrote all of these nasty comments on someone else's blog! Nice!

It's refreshing to know that free speech activists like you on Substack are "leading by example". Here's a handful of some of your comments that you posted recently on Phillips’s Newsletter:. (I went ahead and censored the F-bombs because I wouldn't want to get the "hot ban hammer" for using foul language)!

https://phillipspobrien.substack.com/p/weekend-update-67-command-change/comments

"Screeching your f*cking feelings like a retard doesn't make up for Ukraine losing. I mean, it might feel nice, but it doesn't do anything against the Russians."

"The Ukrainians got played by the United States government. They even admit as much.

The USG doesn't give a flying fuck about Ukraine. They wanted to get one over on the Russians. You're deepthroating slaughter for the sake of some asshole in DC's bank account."

"Stop being retarded holy shit."

"Why are you so retarded? Holy sh*t."

"Dude you're a f*cking retard."

"The not f*cking retarded one."

"Are you f*cking high? Ukraine's dead are facts."

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

Do you have a point?

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Amit's avatar

Bro defends all free speech then says he will not interact with said free so each. Is this just being ignorant?

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

You’re welcome to be an idiot, just not here.

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Boostershots's avatar

I think it was just an accident. His "Hot Ban hammer" was too hot to handle, and he dropped it by mistake. Everybody makes mistakes.

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Don Pato’s Musings's avatar

We are all being lied to on a scale we can barely comprehend.

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Vulkan's avatar

The problem is that the people that we might want to see this, ie: the pro censor side, have probably already blocked you and won’t see this.

I’ve still re-stacked it though incase someone does.

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

It's not for the hardcore people. :)

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Ohio Barbarian's avatar

It's a nice appeal, but your target audience isn't exactly famous for engaging in rational, reasonable discussion. In fact, I think most of them are too stupid to be capable of it, especially the ones with advanced degrees. Preach like a stump preacher saying The End is Nigh before a year that ends in zero, they do.

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

Totally agree, but I felt compelled anyway.

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The Unhedged Capitalist's avatar

Sometimes we just can't help it. A sisyphean effort, but it keeps the writing fingers strong.

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Paul R. Pace's avatar

It's all to common that i engage with some who i disagree with here on Substack and the conversation devolves into I support Nazi's if I am opposed to the content moderation. So basically you are a dolphin killer by drinking out of plastic straws (believe me I have given paper straws the ole college try but that damn paper gets stuck on roof of my mouth), against gay marriage by eating at Chik Fila, and so on & so forth. It's all the same shit. My intentions are always to engage with others to understand their point of view. But seeing how we are living a digital age those intentions can be taken as bad faith. I also can do better.

It's gotten to the point with my siblings that they will flag/highlight something they see in the news as terrible but refuse to talk about it as if it will send them into an emotional tailspin of which there is no recovery.

I am finding myself on an island a bit when it comes to friends/family just because the conversations around politics/culture are preemptively labeled w/ trigger warning.

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WFSL_TheFossil's avatar

I had friends & family like that, but they all fucked off together to spend their days eternally on the precipice of a meltdown. Mental midgets who can’t handle their ideas being challenged or even questioned in an honest effort to understand why they think the way they do. The people who say things like Y’all means all and then block you and excommunicate you. For the most part it’s good riddance but my daughter counts herself as one of them and proudly so. And I miss her, she’s unrecognizable these days.

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Paul R. Pace's avatar

I know that must be hard for you.

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

Sounds like your siblings are in some sort of despair spiral. What’s the point of just silently nodding at bad stuff on the news?

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Paul R. Pace's avatar

It drives me crazy and they know better. My sister helps run a private K-5th grade school. She told all us about all the kids in the school being diagnosed w/ RSV and having to be hospitalized. I asked if they were hospitalized or just getting checked out a emergency care because there's a difference. She got defensive and went off on me which basically answered my question.

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Don Pato’s Musings's avatar

The modern celebration of mediocrity, is nothing more than the reshuffling of lamentable sins into admirable values.

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Don Pato’s Musings's avatar

Do you have any idea the amount of leftover brainwash i have to fight to just listen to Alex Jones?

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Freeq O’Nature's avatar

You’re so right.

Ihave the right to say it, you have the right to not read it. If you do and you don’t like it, it’s yours to own.

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Don Pato’s Musings's avatar

We should all celebrate someone we have lost along the way who might return with someone equally lost on the other side. I think noam chomsky needs an intervention for my own selfish reasons.

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The Obsolete Man's avatar

Great piece! Really enjoyed it. Let’s hope that messages like this get through to a few people at least.

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Jim Brown's avatar

Amen, amen, amen.

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Brandon Richey's avatar

This was a solid piece and I like the way you draw the line more distinctly between Free Speech and Pro-Censor rather than Free Speech and Limited Speech.

Pro-Censors will ONLY continue to expand their efforts from censorship to physical enslavement of a population unless they are called out. Therefore the "calling out" of Pro-Censors MUST occur before they succeed in their venture to enslave those who they cannot defeat in the arena of ideas.

The Pro-Censor is just like the child that throws a temper tantrum because they don't get their way.

This is because the Pro-Censor is the key that picks the lock to Totalitarianism and we just can't allow that to happen.

Thank you for sharing this and keep up the great work.

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

Thanks!

Key to totalitarianism is well said. That’s the end of any ideology.

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Hugh Wallace's avatar

Hi. I think I fall into your ‘other side’ group but I’d counter that to say it’s rare to find anyone who falls squarely into a particular category - humans are multifaceted.

On that note, I’m curious, with your standpoint are you unequivocally against the banning of books in US public schools? That’s undoubtedly one of the most ‘pro-censorship’ actions I’m aware of.

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

Hello Hugh!

To your question: as a general rule, yes. In fact, in the real world I'm a high school studies teacher. I'm currently building an "in-classroom" library for my own use with students.

I have to submit titles for "approval." The first book I submitted (Meditations) sailed right through the process, if that tells you anything. I just sent my first real list of books (holy books, various philosophy texts), so we'll see how that goes.

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Antila H. Belist's avatar

How big is that list? I would be interested in seeing it, if you want to share.

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

Right now it’s about 10 books. I just got approval on a new batch.

So far it includes:

Holy Bible KJV

Holy Qu’arn

Torah

Plato’s Republic and Last Days of Socrates

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

Meditations

Complete Calvin and Hobbes and The Mysteries

Bit slapdash at the moment, but I hope to have a pretty comprehensive playground of human thought.

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Antila H. Belist's avatar

There is a 54 book set called "Great Books of the Western World" that has a ton of great writers. Runs the gamet, Homer, Plutarch, Dante, Pascal, Kant, Goethe, Freud and many more. I found it at an estate sale, but I bet you could find it online.

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

Noted! I’ve been consulting lists like that.

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Antila H. Belist's avatar

Good luck in your search and thanks for sharing.

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IsThisTheRoomForAnArgument's avatar

What a terrifying list; the first six order people to do this and not do that, under pain of death.

The Bible's ultimate hero never makes an appearance,

you can't comment on the Koran if you want to live,

the Torah could do with a bit of humility for The Unchosen,

in the Republic democracy doesn't get a look-in,

Last Days of Socrates contains in Phaedo a death-wish, and

Thus Sprach Zarathustra is for men who cant have healthy relationships with women, and so take it out on the rest of society and grow ridiculous moustaches.

What does this list say about its creator!?

As an antidote ...

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Phisto Sobanii's avatar

Welcome to human history...?

Not sure what your point is here, besides crowing to the world you're a cowardly fool.

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Bill Owen's avatar

REPORTED!

;)

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Project Lazarus's avatar

Nicely written brother 👏🏻

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Jweli's avatar

Another banger Phisto

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