13 Comments
Dec 14, 2023Liked by Russell Nohelty

Thanks - and to anyone who thinks this a free speech issue, it isn't. Substack is a private group. As the saying goes:

"If there’s a Nazi at the table and 10 other people sitting there talking to him, then you got a table with 11 Nazis."

This apples to Substack - if we allow the Nazis to sit with us, we are all showing what we stand for. You are the company you keep. How many old quotes that drive the same point home do you need?

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Thank you for doing this heavy work! as a German who’s done academic research on the holocaust, whose family is deeply involved in remembrance and cultural efforts to not forget our history and responsibility, it is great to see that those with a platform speak up! We had police presence at our most recent classical concert in a former synagogue (that is now a public event venue anyone can rent as no Jewish people are left in this small town) because of the fear of the far right. It is a sad reality in Germany and any other place where Nazis feel comfortable in pushing others to the sides. And online it’s worse. It’s sad. It’s scary and substack needs to take action.

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author

So sorry that is happening.

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Carmen, I am German as well, living in Germany, but without your background and efforts. Huge kudos to you doing that work!

Honestly I am still shocked by what is happening on Substack. I will take a break with my newsletters from tomorrow on after sending out my last newsletters including the open letter. Then I will see if Substack reacts to all of this. If not, I am out, as I can’t stay here and keep a pure conscience.

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Thank you for co-drafting this. I had a deeper look and found a lot of Nazi posts - which to me as a German are absolutely shocking.

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author

100%.

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There’s free speech, and then there’s hate speech. Any group that has a position of white nationalism is, by definition, a hate group and likely on the watchlist of the FBI, and in my country, the RCMP. That alone should tell you. I’m fine with crazy right wingers and radical socialists and love my moderates - but not racists. Thanks for speaking up.

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🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

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"If there’s a Nazi at the table and 10 other people sitting there talking to him, then you got a table with 11 Nazis." No..., you have 12, because you are reading it. We are all those people, or none of us are.

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OMG. This is serious. Thank you for alerting me. Will check this out and take action accordingly.

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Nazis are not far right. When one acquiesces to evil they are evil. Paperclip anyone.

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