I think this comment makes this even worse, some readers might perceive you as now equating Palestinians with terrorists. I really do not think this sort of language belongs on a forum with a diversity of people from all walks of life (and ideally does not belong anywhere). That people upvote your comment is also worrying. Let us try to keep the forum a place where as many people as possible feel comfortable and where we check our own biases and collaborate on creating an atmosphere reflecting wide ranging altruism.
I think you’re significantly misinterpreting what Geoffrey is trying to say and I don’t like the chilling effect caused by trying to avoid making an analogy that could be offensive to anyone who misinterprets you.
I agree that the chilling effect is unfortunate. I also think the chilling effect reaches further—there is a chilling effect on those that find this language, and perhaps even more so the moderators and forum members that condone it, troublesome. When I wrote my original comment, the author could simply have removed this particular analogy from their post. I would then have been ok to remove my comment and I would likely have even removed my downvote of the post—perhaps people would not even notice and the chilling effect would be much reduced. I also think humility is good to practice for EAs and taking onboard reasonable criticism and changing our behavior seems a good way to exercise such humility.
I think this comment makes this even worse, some readers might perceive you as now equating Palestinians with terrorists. I really do not think this sort of language belongs on a forum with a diversity of people from all walks of life (and ideally does not belong anywhere). That people upvote your comment is also worrying. Let us try to keep the forum a place where as many people as possible feel comfortable and where we check our own biases and collaborate on creating an atmosphere reflecting wide ranging altruism.
I think you’re significantly misinterpreting what Geoffrey is trying to say and I don’t like the chilling effect caused by trying to avoid making an analogy that could be offensive to anyone who misinterprets you.
I agree that the chilling effect is unfortunate. I also think the chilling effect reaches further—there is a chilling effect on those that find this language, and perhaps even more so the moderators and forum members that condone it, troublesome. When I wrote my original comment, the author could simply have removed this particular analogy from their post. I would then have been ok to remove my comment and I would likely have even removed my downvote of the post—perhaps people would not even notice and the chilling effect would be much reduced. I also think humility is good to practice for EAs and taking onboard reasonable criticism and changing our behavior seems a good way to exercise such humility.