Larry Auster Challenges Charles Johnson of LGF

Larry Auster of View From the Right is a powerful thinker and writer. I don't always agree with him, but I respect his ability to think critically and logically. He has his own take on the recent effort of Little Green Footballs to out Velaams Belaang as a racist group. Auster quotes several of his readers who think Charles Johnson is becoming too intolerant of LGF members who disagree with him. I have heard this criticism from others as well, that the LGF members (which currently include me) are merely an echo chamber for Charles Johnson, and LGF a kind of online personality cult.

There may be some truth to this and Charles should take care to avoid this impression. Other online conservatives like David Horowitz have a thick skin for honest dissent and that enhances their credibility instead of diminishing it. My impression of LGF is that there are members there who challenge or disagree with Charles Johnson without getting kicked off. There are others who are slavish butt-kissers who, if Charles declared the world to be flat, would "turn on a dime" and become flat-earthers. I can never be a yes-man to anyone. I agree with Charles Johnson maybe 90% of the time and that will have to do. On the other hand, Charles does kick off trolls and liberals who sign up just to annoy the other members. I don't have a problem with that. LGF is not primarily a debating society and I wouldn't have joined if it were.

Online personality cults do exist. Free Republic is definitely one of them, and as a result, has lost a lot of credibility over the past 2 or 3 years. The owner of that site regularly boots off anyone who dissents with his specific beliefs and has roving sheriffs who flag any messages not adhering strictly to his party line. I got kicked off for disagreeing with some member over the causes of the American Civil War. This, in spite of the fact that I agreed with most Free Republic members about discussion topics about 90% of the time. As a result, I do not frequent Free Republic, read it, consult it, or link to it. I think the owner of that site is a flaming jerk. If you want to remain an active member of Free Republic, be sure to kiss the owner's ass publicly, slavishly and often.

However, that is not to say a website can't have reasonable rules, the infraction of which could get you banned. Michelle Malkin's Terms of Use are reasonable. There are legal liability reasons for her terms of use. She doesn't want to get sued if you slander, libel or threaten someone. This is fine. She says "In short, you’re my guest here. I welcome your participation, but if you abuse my hospitality, don’t be surprised if you are shown the door."