Steve Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I just read about this on Reddit. If you go to Google Shopping and search for "confederate flag", it instantly pops up that there are zero results. This is because Google have effectively censored that particular search term and are blocking all of the results. Reverse the order of the words and search for "flag confederate" and a whole bunch of results are returned. This doesn't just stop people from buying the flag. It stops people from buying books about the history of the flag, or books about the Civil War in general. The terms "nazi flag" and "isis flag" are not censored. It should not be a search engine's job to censor search results for political reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest petesasqwax Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I agree. Is it used as a fucked up racist symbol? Yes, frequently, but that doesn't mean a search engine has the right to censor it. Google needs to be very careful here. If they censor that, what else will they censor? What else are they censoring already? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Symatic Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 fuckin illuminati pagan reptiles 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doppelkorn Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Reading around, this is reported as a decision related to making products available, following eBay and Amazon's (amongst others) decisions to stop selling the flag. I see this as a political decision, sure, but it's a token gesture. That much is obvious in that they've not really done anything to seriously stop people getting hold of it. Finally, only Google can decide what they do or don't provide in search results. You can't believe that Google results are simply a dispassionate dump of information based on a query, can you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deft Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Well I feel safer already and am pretty sure this will fix racism for good. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 If you search for "confederate fag", it asks "Did you mean confederate flag?" and shows you all the results, lol. Google really put a lot of effort into this. It's not true that only Google decide what they do and don't show in search results BTW. They hold a monopoly position in Europe, therefore they are open to anti-trust cases (some are already underway) if they manipulate search results in certain ways. Also, the "right to be forgotten" stuff shows that Google can be forced into removing search results by the EU courts. I think this is a dangerous slippery slope. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doppelkorn Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 If you search for "confederate fag", it asks "Did you mean confederate flag?" and shows you all the results, lol. Google really put a lot of effort into thisI think that's the point - they didn't! It's a token gesture to express a position on something. They're not actually launching a sustained effort on their own services to prevent people buying the flag because it would be fairly pointless. Wallmart can stop selling it but Google can't because it doesn't sell the flag, so they're just doing this out of some kind of solidarity, I guess. Do you think it's a dangerous, slippery slope that courts can decide what's shown, or that Google decides? Either way it's not a "pure" search. Someone's influencing those results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rasteri Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I think we're overlooking the rather more serious matter of google turning results for "confederate fag" into "confederate flag". It's political correctness gone mad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doppelkorn Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 1, 2015 Author Share Posted July 1, 2015 I don't agree with the "right to be forgotten" stuff, but I'm not sure that Google should be allowed to prioritise search results if they have a vested interest in the products/services people are searching for. For instance, if you search for "search engine", you wouldn't want to see the top result being Google itself followed by pages of news articles saying how good Google search is, before you finally get to Google's competitors, or, you find that Google doesn't even list any of its competitors in the results. As for the confederate flag thing, it shows that they are willing to censor results based on politics, which really isn't good for a search engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doppelkorn Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 I'm pretty busy but I just checked if Yahoo is doing the same thing and if you type in "confederate flag" it just refreshes the main page. It also reminded me that Yahoo is gash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arkei Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 As if their actual flag couldn't be linked with slavery/classism/racism... It's wrong but that's how it goes with multinational big corporations... On the other hand...I could never understand that patriotic flag-waving-having stuff. I mean I'm happy being a Swiss...but I'm not proud of Switzerland. I'm proud of what I achieved, because I did it on my own. But being born in a specific country ain't really a performance or something you could be proud of IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doppelkorn Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 If someone asks me if I'm proud to be British I always say no, I'm happy to be British. Interestingly, I was having this debate with my wife and she said she'd describe herself as English, not British. Thread? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 That's pretty ridiculous. I get that Google is trying to do something good but I don't think censorship is any better. I agree with you Steve, the "right to forget" is bullshit. The underpinnings of the American civil war are complex and people brush it aside with "it's about slavery" just to simplify it into the a single emotional explanation. What would be more helpful IMO is if Google actually used their search engine to educate people. When they google "Confederate flag" only give them results of the actual confederate flag (which is not the flag being discussed). The "stars and bars" flag everyone is talking about is not the Confederate flag... it's the Army of Northern Virginia battle flag which was adopted and popularized by the Klan. Then to make things more complex, to people of my generation there was Dukes of Hazzard which confused matters for every kid my generation by largely dissociating the flag from it's Klan meaning and making it cool. Lets be honest tho, aesthetically, the VA battle flag is a beautiful flag. Shame it has so much baggage. This is the real Confederate Flag and what the Sons/Daughters of the Confederacy should be using if they want to (accurately) remember history and honor their ancestors. The real Confederate Flag of the United States of America is also what is displayed at the Texas State Capital alongside the other historical "Six Flags over Texas". States like Georgia, SC, Bamma are all retarded for flaying the Stars and Bars in place of the real Confederate flag. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doppelkorn Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 that's a top 10 DV post of all time contender along with my Anthony Worrall-Thompson pie maker post. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Killer Mike's take on it: https://www.thefader.com/2015/06/24/killer-mike-confederate-flag 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rasteri Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 There's one fact I completely missed in this whole debate. I assumed that the flag had been flown in South Carolina since the civil war or something - but apparently it was first flown in fucking 1961 as an opposition to the civil rights movement. Regardless of whether or not the confederate flag is itself a racist symbol, the only reason it's on the state capitol is because the state opposed desegregation. That's really fucked up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 ^^Exactly. That flag isn't the confederate flag it's a flag adopted solely as a symbol of bigotry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve Posted July 6, 2015 Author Share Posted July 6, 2015 Killer Mike's take on it: https://www.thefader.com/2015/06/24/killer-mike-confederate-flag I agree with him 100%. KILLER MIKE: My opinion on the Confederate flag is quite simple and clear. I have no problem with Southerners who consider that a part of their heritage flying it privately in their homes or [wearing it] on their shirts or jackets. Even if that's your choice of vanity license plate, you pay a tax for your license plate in Georgia. So that's your tax, for your license plate. I have white friends who have the Confederate flag on their license plates and I have no issue with that, if they see that as a matter of heritage. But I do not think it should ever fly over a state, city, county building, or school, for the simple reason that it represents secession from the Union. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted July 6, 2015 Share Posted July 6, 2015 Yeah I thought that was a well thought opinion. Pretty right on the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 So... this guy with a klan tattoo at the pro-confederate battle flag rally was wearing Fubu sneakers. And apparently 99% of everyone else was wearing Crocs. It's like Idiocracy comes to life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest rasteri Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Suppose it's a bit like black people wearing urban outfitters stuff. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Rock Well Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Killer Mike's take on it: https://www.thefader.com/2015/06/24/killer-mike-confederate-flagI agree with him 100%. KILLER MIKE: My opinion on the Confederate flag is quite simple and clear. I have no problem with Southerners who consider that a part of their heritage flying it privately in their homes or [wearing it] on their shirts or jackets. Even if that's your choice of vanity license plate, you pay a tax for your license plate in Georgia. So that's your tax, for your license plate. I have white friends who have the Confederate flag on their license plates and I have no issue with that, if they see that as a matter of heritage. But I do not think it should ever fly over a state, city, county building, or school, for the simple reason that it represents secession from the Union. I agree with pretty much everything Killer Mike says when he's talking on serious matters. He's always on point IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djdiggla Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Suppose it's a bit like black people wearing urban outfitters stuff. Shit. More like Kayne wearing a klan shirt. I would be uncomfortable as fuck wearing FUBU. It was basically promoted as clothing explicitly not for white people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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