Sailer in Taki: Megaphonics
12/10/2014
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From my new Taki’s Magazine column:
The study of the workings (and failures) of the Megaphone is one of the central subjects of our time, but we lack even a word for the subject. Perhaps Megaphonics will do? …

Another Megaphonics phenomenon is currently happening in online comments sections. In the name of “having a conversation” about race or rape, actual conversations are being silenced.

For example, back on November 29th, the editorial board of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch confidently proclaimed:

Let’s have this conversation.

Let’s talk about race. We know it’s going to be awkward, no matter how well-intentioned. We know it makes both blacks and whites uncomfortable.

But on December 8th, the defeated Editorial Board declared:
For the next two months, we are turning off the comment function on all editorials, columns and letters in the opinion section.

Why?

Ferguson.

Last Sunday, we challenged our region to have the serious discussion on race that it has been avoiding for decades. …

We intend to use our opinion pages to help the St. Louis region have a meaningful discussion about race. So we are going to turn off the comments …

In other words, as translated from Megaphonics:

Read the whole thing there.
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