Which leads to the question: what if they are racist, and also, if they are, don't they have a right to their opinions, and if they do, are those rights only applicable if muffled?
I find the entire matter of opinions and politically tied views quite fascinating. No idea how they work (as in legality) in the USA, nor, really, in Britain, but don't you find something quite frightening about attempts to have people's minds purified? I went through some of that third degree in boarding school; more than once it crossed my mind in later years that it was a reaction to puritans that helped steer me towards fashion and calendar photography. So actually, perhaps in a perverse sort of way, the puritans did me some good.
By the way, this is not an attempt to interfere with your Moderator function at all, it is a genuine puzzlement at what society considers or does not consider apt. It seems to me that society sometimes makes rules that are totally unrealistic.
Rob, if someone has expressed racist views, there can be no objection to the accusation, supported by reasons. However, to accuse someone of racism merely because he has expressed support for a particular politician is highly likely to be unacceptable. In this context, in particular, it's playing the man and not the ball. That's why I consider it worthy of censure (and, in the absence of apology, more).
Not all leaders' views are adopted by their supporters. I take the view, for example, that the Labour Party is institutionally antisemitic and has a leader who is either himself antisemitic or who, while prepared to mouth platitudes when required, in reality considers antisemitism not to be a problem; and I consider that to be a stance supported by a wealth of evidence which is never properly addressed. That does not mean that I consider all the millions of people who will vote for the party in three weeks' time to be racist; many of them will no doubt vote for the party tribally, because they support its policies or for a myriad of other possible reasons. Similar criteria would apply to those who voted for Marine Le Pen in the 2017 French presidential elections.
I've no wish to purify any individual's mind, and attempting mass purification would make the cleaning of the Augean stables look like a quick whizz round with a feather duster.
Whether racists should be allowed to express racist views, and where a line should be drawn between those views which are racist and those which fall within the scope of either fact or reasonable opinion, is an entirely different question and one which, happily, does not arise or at least has not yet arisen here.
If you, or anyone else, wishes to discuss, or challenge, decisions I take as moderator, you are more than welcome to do so (as long as you don't adopt the Molitor approach, of course).
Jeremy
