Somebody's long rant about "guilty until proven innocent" just got upvoted to the frontpage of /r/TwoXChromosomes in less than 30 minutes, then promptly got deleted by moderators

215    12 Dec 2017 16:01 by u/EMILY_WAS_HERE

It was a huge thoughtful essay by u/outerwings (sorry if sharing your name is bad, I can remove it if you want) and I was one of the first people on the thread. I actually found it by sorting by new. I even gilded it once I realized it was becoming popular. But the thread got [removed], and even my encouraging comment got moderated too. I posted some more things after, but when I logged out I found out that all my posts were getting silently deleted (effectively, I was banned). I wouldn't doubt the OP was also banned, as well as a bunch of other people with high voted comments in the thread. For the record, people were incredibly in favor of the subject of the thread. All I saw was replies that were entirely in agreement with what the OP was saying. It was actually embarrassing because my comment was about how the thread will certainly be downvoted, but it ended up being received very positively. So the swift and silent deletion just makes it more eerie... Not that we've never seen anything like that before. The thread was here, I wish I saved it, may it rest in peace: https://www.reddit.com/r/TwoXChromosomes/comments/7jaod8/guilty_until_proven_innocent_is_not_the_way_to_go/

13 comments

71
That sub is run by some sad people. They were blanket banning anyone that posted in r/The_Donald. So this isn't surprising, but it is sad.
10
Yep that’s how I got banned from 2x... simply because I posted that I found someone with a PSN name of “infowars.com”
51
The original text: >If you haven’t been living under a rock you are probably being bombarded with news of sexual abuse allegations being leveled at famous men almost on a daily basis. There is an almost manic, ‘creepily’ predatory character to the entire narrative, with mainstream media salivating at the prospect of culling its own. It has also, unfortunately, started seeming more and more like the Salem witch hunts. >It is clearly unprecedented, not because of the nature of the allegations, but because of the swift manner in which the employers of the men accused hastily dumped them. It is also very unsettling, in that probably for the first time in popular memory, there is no trial, no discussion, no debate, no back and forth about the process of these firings; save for the snap calculation that the bad publicity from the social fallout outweighed the commercial advantage of keeping these individuals on board. >No matter what your position on the issue, it is hard to argue there is any moral high ground in supporting the principle of ‘guilty until proven innocent.’ An accusation (no matter how serious) is in the end… an accusation. In a fair world, it should have no repercussions for someone’s career or life (woman or man) unless backed by thorough inquiry. The corporate entities which are firing these people in response to alleged unbecoming behavior, are setting a horrible precedent to protect their own public image, a precedent where an accusation alone is enough to end someone’s career. >Now let’s be clear. If a man or woman publicly admits to harassment without any external pressure to do so, then he or she absolutely should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. However, many of the accused men in this case, have publicly and vehemently denied these charges. They have however still, been separated from their jobs and projects while disregarding their statements. This sets an extremely dangerous example, where every famous man or woman is fragile enough to be brought down by a story planted by an adversary or the scorn of an ex or jilted lover. >The ways in which this new social paradigm can be abused is limit less. It provides infinite ammo to detractors of a political or entertainment figure to manipulate and blackmail him or her through the use of a planted story or propaganda piece. It sets the stage for a murky culture of politics centered around scandal, fear and victimhood. >It is also a particularly undesirable social understanding to arrive at both for our personal as well as our social lives. It’s a world where we are constantly on the lookout, hypersensitive, reactive to any perceived social or sexual slights. In an environment where relationships between women and men are already complicated with transforming gender roles and the upending of society that comes with it, the #me too train (its noble intentions notwithstanding) inadvertently threatens to drive an even deeper wedge in a society where men become fearful of even interacting with women thinking ‘any’ or ‘every’ one of their actions may be perceived as harassment. >Worse, untempered, the initially noble campaign has the very real potential to undo decades of progress made by women in the work place by spooking companies which might have initially been interested in hiring more women. What if there is a sexual harassment lawsuit down the line? What if the individual decides to go to the press before they go to HR? “Women are too much trouble” or “Women are potential land mines” could just as easily replace slogans like “women are empowered” or “women bring value to an organization.” The last thing we want to see coming out of this entire episode is resurrecting of the specter of the ‘hysterical female’ that society has taken a long time to (thankfully) put to rest. >Let me repeat once again in case you missed it: Sexual abuse should not be tolerated in any shape or form. It is something extremely uncomfortable for the person affected by it and it poisons the work environment while simultaneously dragging down productivity. However, it is never justified, to make compromises on the fundamental principles of justice, fairness, equality and ‘due process before the law’ that all of us recognize as basic human rights. The very real problem of sexual harassment should not be allowed to be hijacked by political opportunists and vested interests who might use the same principles against us when it suits them. The same people rooting for the heads of the accused individuals on a platter might one day find themselves in a similar situation. Social movements and ideologies have this funny way of turning on their creators.
34
Not a damn thing controversial about that post... yet they removed it because it goes against the narrative they like to push.
26
A girl once made very aggressive advances to me which I declined. Not long after, a friend of hers came on to me at a party and I made out with her. The first girl had the gall to call me a "sexual predator." I know personally that spurned women can level accusation's of sexual assault. It's an old problem, too - Joseph and Potiphar's wife.
9
TYSM for posting it, I wanted to re-read it but I couldn't
24
Remember, that's a sub that once got duped by a woman who claimed to have run a marathon or 10k? something like that. After it was revealed she lied, the "women" there rallied around her to tell her she could do it though. After she took in all the congrats and praise.. they still didnt call her on her shit. Well, the real women who did call her out got shamed for calling out a liar and fraud. *boggle* That sub is full of the WORST advice I have ever seen in a sub. Another example: "I was raped (uhh, hmm?) and I didnt report it" (one of many of those threads that claim rape.) Anyhow - I said "how would you feel if he raped a girl who is reading your thread now and you could've prevented it?" Told them I'd be mad if the rapist then assaulted my girlfriend and it could've been prevented. Then I added "to those of you reading this, how would you feel if you were raped by a guy that this girl could've had put away?" Silence. deleted comment. Censorship.. buried replied. That sub exists to create and stay victims. also, it's so poorly run if it turns out to secretly be run by 4Chan trolls, I would totally get it.
20
I was banned from there simply for posting in an entirely different sub, so it's not really a surprise they will delete threads that don't conform to the moderators personal opinions. Shitty, but not surprising.
6
I honestly believe that mods that do this, shouldnt be allowed to mod.
7
The admins have said it’s against their rules. However they don’t actually ENFORCE their rules, especially when its subreddits like this.
3
They're being paid to do so.
12
I was very confused until hitting that link. I thought it was in favor of the idea, and so was confused why it would be banned. Much clearer from the title that it is in favor of the typical legal precedent of proving guilt.
7
Twoxchromosomes is just another Pravda stalinist dictatorship. Praise the communists comrades! /S