We need to step back and have some sensible dialogue about this, because it doesn't bode well for the future of Free Speech otherwise.
As we pointed out yesterday, this unprecedented, mass-attack on a single media outlet is probably motivated by legal liability issues more than anything else. A spokesman for Facebook said: "While much of the discussion of Infowars has been around false news... none of the violations that spurred today's removals were related to this."
Apple stated officially: "Apple does not tolerate hate speech, and we have clear guidelines that creators and developers must follow to ensure a safe environment for all of our users."
Youtube stated their reason as "repeatedly violating our policies against hate speech and harassment or our terms prohibiting circumvention of our enforcement measures." This last phrase is especially telling. It's also interesting that Youtube and Apple both strongly suggest harassment as a reason, and it could also could be deduced as a motive from Facebook's statement. Which leads us back to allegations made against Jones in the Sandy Hook lawsuit.
This same thing happened nearly a year ago with the mass-banning of the sick Red Pill site, The Daily Stormer. Andrew Anglin, who ran the site was also being sued for harassment and libel---in two different lawsuits. (He recently lost the latter case.) The debate then also swirled around free speech. But the point here is that with Rights come responsibilities. We can't be responsible for how some use our words, but egging on people to commit acts of harassment and violence can't be excused. This goes for Left-Wing agitators too. Keith Olbermann nearly got the same treatment as Anglin and Jones got, but discreetly bailed out voluntarily before the hammer came down.
Let's not forget that, in the middle of this controversy, are the victims of Jones' agitation. Noah and Veronique Pozner, who lost a son at Sandy Hook wrote:
"In order to protect ourselves and our surviving children, we have had to relocate numerous times. These groups use social media, including Facebook, to “hunt” us, posting our home address and videos of our house online. We are currently living in hiding. We are far from alone in our experiences, as many other families who have lost loved ones in mass shootings and other tragedies have reported the same continuing torment."
The Pozners are American Nationals, and deserve the protection of the law from this sort of abuse. So is Gene Rosen, a hero who saved six children at Sandy Hook and has suffered vicious harassment since 2012. He is now 75 years old.
Robert Parker, who lost a daughter at Sandy Hook has been accused of being a 'crisis actor' and was attacked across the Internet after a CNN interview. The McDonnell Family, who also lost a daughter had the memorial they had raised for her stolen and vandalized. The thieves actually called them to taunt them over the 'hoax'. In 2016, the sister of slain Sandy Hook teacher Victoria Soto was assaulted in New York City by a man demanding that she confess that her sister never existed.
Last year, the Catholic Church near Sandy Hook had to request police to patrol the Church grounds during a memorial prayer vigil. This was because of threats against the Church. And so on. To the best of our knowledge, Jones has never denounced nor criticized any of these activities in any way.
These are neither the words nor the actions of any real Conservative. Jones---like Andrew Anglin before him---is simply playing the victim card. Though not reported by the Corporate Media, a number of Republican politicians have stood by the Sandy Hook victims. So should we.
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