Man Bites Dog! Supporting Atheist Blogger Nick Ginsburne
John on February 12, 2007 at 12:13 pm
Anyone who has perused this blog knows that I write frequently about atheists and atheism. Most of what I have to say is critical, though I make an effort to be fair and kind to those with whom I disagree.
Recently, it came to my attention (via HotAir) that atheist Nick Ginsburne had his YouTube account revoked after posting a video critical of Islam. Mr. Ginsburne had previously posted many similar videos critical of Christianity, none of which seemed to warrant his banning.
Frankly, I’m not a fan of Mr. Ginsburne or his opinions of my faith. But I’m repulsed by the double standard being employed by YouTube and the lack of freedom being given to users of that site. If Ginsburne’s opinons are banned this week, my opinion could be banned next week. So I’ve taken the advice of a fellow Christian blogger to contact YouTube with my opinon. Here’s what I wrote:
I work at a church in southern California. I learned that YouTube recently banned an atheist name Nick Ginsburne and deleted all his videos after he posted a video critical of Islam.
YouTube needs to have a consistent policy. How can you justify hosting all of the “blasphemy challenge” videos aimed at my faith while banning the far less offensive efforts of Mr. Ginsburne toward Islam.
If criticism of one religion is acceptable (and it is) then criticism of all religions should be equally acceptable. YouTube’s corporate parent Google has shown itself all to willing to limit freedom when they think they can get away with it. So this is not a vote for Mr. Ginsburne or his opinions, it’s a vote for freedom. Restore his account or simply declare that free expression is not welcome on You Tube.
For anyone who would like to add their voice to the chorus, here’s the link.
Category: Atheism, Blogs & New Media |
Done. Seems silly to me.
Though, if one were to go with the general stereotypes, at least ignoring the Spanish Inquisition, perhaps YouTube should be more worried about Islamic fundamentalists than Christians. (that was a joke, people…)
February 12, 2007 @ 2:53 pmJon,
Unfortunately, that’s no joke.
You can say what you want about Christianity, but when you say something about Islam people get really nervous.
February 12, 2007 @ 3:15 pmGood for you, John. That kind of reasoned response shows we aren’t afraid of being challenged in the marketplace of ideas (even though Islam is!).
February 12, 2007 @ 5:14 pmThanks, Neil.
February 12, 2007 @ 8:09 pmI don’t know if this is a result of fear or of political correctness, but criticism of religion is only the underlying issue. Muslims should be offended because a list of direct quotations from their holy book has been banned. Christians are not safe either; a video with quotations from the Christian Bible has been censored as well, as denounced by AustinAtheistAnonymous. In the end this is simply YouTube forbidding adults from thinking on their own.
I’ve proposed a “Google bombing” effort to make Google an instrument of its own denunciation (Google Inc. owns YouTube). You just have to link the text “YouTube censorship” to webpages (such as this one!) dealing with the issue; if enough people do it, the terms “YouTube censorship” will appear first in Google search results.
February 13, 2007 @ 1:11 pm[...] a ser criada uma campanha de solidariedade em todos estes sites de forma a levar este assunto à primeira página do motor de busca da Google. Mais ou menos como guerrilhar [...]
February 19, 2007 @ 12:03 pmIt goes beyond that. I put up a video satire on YouTube that was directed at The Blasphemy Challenge. It lasted 6 hours before irate atheists flagged it and it was removed as “Inappropriate Content.” A stream of atheists mocking and misrepresenting Christianity is fine…but a non-obscene satire in response is not. Yay.
February 26, 2007 @ 9:09 pm[...] YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship [...]
March 5, 2007 @ 8:03 am[...] YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship YouTube censorship [...]
September 11, 2007 @ 3:56 pm