It’s a strange feeling, when something you’ve written suddenly disappears from a comments section, without any reason given. It’s defiling of course, and rather creepy. It also really, really gets my back up and causes me to dig my heels in. It reminds me of a stanza from the Kipling poem Norman and Saxon.
“The Saxon is not like us Normans. His manners are not so polite.
But he never means anything serious till he talks about justice and right.
When he stands like an ox in the furrow – with his sullen set eyes on your own,
And grumbles, ‘This isn’t fair dealing,’ my son, leave the Saxon alone.”
I’m not talking about the hallowed halls of BW.com, but YouTube. I was watching the latest Andrew Klavan show and I thought I’d leave a light hearted comment on the fact that there are actual YT ads on his show recently. Here’s what I posted.
“Being a card carrying pooftah myself I find your love and admiration for your son Spencer (no relation) to be truly touching. Of course I always enjoy your perspectives and observations. However, I’ve noticed a dark and disturbing development recently. Quite separately to your own amusing advocacy of various businesses your videos are being interrupted by little films extoling the virtues of various goods and services. I am not used to seeing these annoying “ads” in good, sound conservative videos. What is going on? Are you not annoying the YT gods as much these days? I think we should be told.”
I didn’t watch the show all the way through, and went back to it some hours later. I went back to see the rest and casually scrolled down to see if folk had liked my efforts (yeah, I know). It was gone! I posted it again, and copied it. I’m up to five postings of it now. I’m putting a score under it now and asking YT why they don’t want it up. A bit much considering there is a shouty comment further down that condemns Spencer Klavan to hell and calling Andrew a horrible father that’s still there 13 hours after being posted.
UPDATE
I experimented with posting the comment in two parts. Sure enough, the part about the ads stayed up. It would seem it was the word pooftah that some automated system didn’t like. So, I simply wrote it like this, p**ftah. I find it amusing, frustrating and chilling in equal measure that some automated system is censoring such a mild term as poof or pooftah. Yes, it can be a pejorative, but in my world it’s mostly ironic and affectionate. In fact, when it is used negatively it’s more about weak, overly theatrical and unmanly behaviour, rather than homosexuality per se. What do I think of this ham fisted censoring of my language by YT? I’ll let Battery Sgt Major Williams express my views…
7 replies on “Being censored again…”
Yeah, you might have noticed if you’ve payed any attention at all … My comments run more towards essays than to 250 character tweets.
I used to comment on Quora quite a lot. It’s a good place to get in a fight with a Leftist. After about the tenth time (OK, it took me a while to learn) that they just plain refused to post what I thought was a reasonable comment where I watched my language meticulously and my words just disappeared forever … I just got mad and gave up. I deleted my user and left there forever, never to return.
It’s a real pain-in-the-ass to write 15 or more paragraphs laying out my arguments and points as best I’m able to then have all that work just disappear because I used a word they had on their block list.
I thought at first they were doing that to me here on this site and demanded a refund from Scott. He assured me that it was a technical glitch and that if I really wanted a refund I could have it. We worked together to get the glitch cleared up and I found a new home here where I can write essays to my heart’s content.
(Sigh) It’s good not to have to worry about censorship and not have to use carefully crafted phrases to get around keyword filters. Sadly there are no Leftist ears to box here but fear not, this site has it’s share of stupid people so it’s not a total loss.
I left Quora for the same reason. Any time I commented on local issues on the site which was operated by our local public television channel, anything right of leftist was removed. So I stopped wasting my time. That was about 5-6 years ago, and thankfully, even the media can’t prop up the intolerant “tolerant” left any more. America is tired of their social justice temper tantrum and ready to speak freely once more.
I’m pretty sure I was just getting auto-deleted at the end of my Quora experience, I was careful not to use words like Davey describes above and any other words that I knew were going to alert the keyword filter or flag the comment “for further review”.
They have an appeals process which is a joke because they won’t tell you what you did wrong so you can change it. That makes it no more than an excuse to censor, not a reason that you did something you shouldn’t.
I’m not happy about that kind of thing for another reason too. This place is a safe haven but here we’re preaching to the choir. That’s OK, the choir needs resources too. It’s nice to have a place that is more friendly than not (though as I said, we still have our share of kooks, nuts and nitwits) but it’s out there in the big mean ol’ world that a difference can be made.
I.E. I’m fine with BillWhittle.com posting videos to YouTube because most of the people on Rumble are already on our side, more or less. It’s the folks out there in YouTube land we need to reach. Those are the people that need to know the “social justice temper tantrum” isn’t how the majority see things. Those are the people who need support and reinforcement. If we all retreat inside the shell of other venues we’re going to lose them.
YouTube is also a major member recruitment resource.
It’s absurd to think that not patronizing YouTube is going to make any difference to the Left or Google/YouTube. If that was going to work CNN would be more like Fox News because CNN’s ratings have been steadily tanking. Hell, the “Gutfeld!” show only took a couple weeks to hit the number one spot on late night comedy. People are thirsty for relief from the Woke Desert.
The trick is not boycotting, that has no effect. I left Quora because commenting there had become futile, not because I thought I’d have any impact on their operations.
The trick is to turn their own weapons on them and fire away. I still go on YouTube quite a lot and point people to this site every chance I can work in.
So when these assholes ban, block, and shred conservative opinions and viewpoints, that’s a very bad thing indeed. But we still need to keep trying. As for Quora, I hope it collapses or just becomes an echo chamber as people move on to more productive venues and platforms.
Thank you for taking the time to craft a thoughtful reply. I agree that YouTube is the best venue to open eyes, change minds and recruit new members. Since about 2012, I have been doing all of these (except for recruitment; I think I’m coming up on a year at this site) at every opportunity. For recruitment purposes, if I think the person to whom I responding might listen with an open mind, I routinely include a link to a relevant video from Bill and/or the channel at the bottom of my comment. Same goes for the audience who might read my comment in response to the YouTube video itself.
I’m also sure to give high praise to the other member of team Whittle…Scott, Steve and Zo…as well as to the well produced content generated.
While I share your concern that millions of Americans have yet to be informed of the smallish size of the Twitterazi, (there are plenty of brainwashed youth out there), I believe the battle has been largely won. We’ve been fighting it for almost ten years now, and I believe that we’ve put the mightier pen to paper and skewered the body politic of cancel culture.
President Trump broke the back of their main enforcement arm, the fake news, which backed up any claim of racism, sexism, etc. with their propaganda.
BLM has been discredited thoroughly. Even the local chapters are ticked off at not receiving
The Twitter mob has been exposed for the youthful, virtue-signaling idiots they are along with snooty, liberal, coastal “elite.”
American parents are now being called “domestic terrorists” for objecting to CRT and LGBT garbage in schools.
Many millions of Biden voters realize they’ve been hoodwinked and are considering the possibility of a stolen election.
Many millions of Americans are seeing the insanity of these vaccine mandates and feel the threat of tyranny of which cancel culture was simply a sign. They might not be able to put it into words, but they realize something’s up.
In a separate, future post to the blog, I’ll go into more detail, but cancel culture is dead, and I reach this conclusion after spending thousands of hours watching and commenting on YouTube videos.
The next battlefront, which we’re starting to breach in the comment sections, is the complete and utter destruction of the progressive movement in this country in schools and entertainment, and the Democrat Communist Party (DCP) and the fake news and Hollywood and wokeness in sports and big corporations along with it.
Over the next 12 months, you’re going to see the stolen election exposed along with the communist tyranny behind it including the establishment’s cozy relationship with the globalists. Those two things are just now starting to work their way into the mainstream and they will result in the destruction of the DCP and wokeness in all its forms.
When it comes to the war on communism in this country, failure will not be tolerated as an option, and that is why we will win. It’s also why I fight.
God bless. Have a fantastic Sunday. Thank you again for your reply…these are all great motivating videos to watch and share.
P.S. Just out of curiosity, I recently began using Ctrl-F to find the playlist(s) I was seeking when saving a YouTube video. As a tech guy, have you found a way to alphabetize the playlists when saving a video? Any input would be appreciated.
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Fight patriots. Fight like hell (Leslie Stahl said it on 60 Minutes to traitor Liz Cheney, so I guess I can say it now too). Do not comply. Do not remain silent. Our very freedom and our nation are at stake. This is our turn to fight. Honor the sacrifices of past and current generations and preserve America for future generations.
Lt. Gov Mark Robinson is one hell of a speaker. All of these are worth a listen….
N.C. Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, Independence Day, 2021
https://youtu.be/CyIFPW7qwAk
NC Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson – Road to Majority 2021 – Faith and Freedom Coalition
Lt. Gov. Robinson Gives One of the Best pro-America Speeches You’ll Ever Hear
https://youtu.be/keL7kHWfTCA
“I will NOT go silently into that good night. I will not capitulate to the left. I will not lay down. For the memory of that young man that had that bayonet plunged into him. To the memory of that young woman who was blown up in Iraq. To the memory of those firefighters on 9/11. I will not be silent. I will not go away. I will not lay down. I will not shut up. I will not stop talking. I will not stop fighting. Everything that is in me I will stand up. I will stand up with the courage of John the Baptist and Joshua. I will stand up encouraged by those who came before me. I will move forward. I will keep striving. I will keep fighting for that cause.”
Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson’s speech to the Greensboro, North Carolina City Council on April 3, 2018 that made him a household name among freedom-loving Americans and propelled him to his current position as the Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina.
“I Am The Majority” Speech From Mark Robinson
https://youtu.be/o3EGEj6wMNc
NC Lt. Governor Mark Robinson on his Rapid Rise from Factory Worker to Lt. Governor
https://youtu.be/flmFYehpKI8
Wait until you have your entire channel deleted with all the playlists and everything else you’ve been saving for several years. It’s a hoot!
I think my egregious sin was sharing the Tony Bobulinski videos many, many times right before the 2020 election on sites like The Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump (both run by RINO’s including Steve Wilson who I can’t stand (he’s the one who mocked us all on CNN with Don Lemon and some other schmuck)). The videos incriminate Joe Biden by identifying him as the “big guy” to whom Hunter’s emails refer as far as receiving 10% (and more) of deals made with China and others.
I don’t remember the exact terms of service b.s. they cited. Something about harassment, which was absurd. But there’s no direct appeal process where you can talk to anyone and they reserve the right to interpret their own rules any way they please…even if the application is inconsistent from one case to the next so they can favor those who think like them. Isn’t tyranny awesome!
Sorry for your troubles. It is indeed frustrating. I’ve taken to copying and pasting comments as I send them in some application on my computer…word processor, email or otherwise. Sounds like you did the same as you were able to repost it.
Like you, when I see a comment deleted, it only makes me more determined. I don’t think they fully grasp that by ticking people off, they’re only making their opponent stronger.
I don’t see a thing in your comment which would make it suspect. I’m not sure, but I think if someone else reports your comment—as some immature people do out of spite—then they take it down pending their ruling which means forever as far as I know.
Stuff about the stolen election, Alex Jones or any topic they don’t like will do it a lot of times too.
I’ve found that responses to another user’s comment will survive over my posting of the same comment as a general response to the video. I also seem to have gained greater immunity from prosecution by subscribing to lefty websites like the NYT and the Guardian using the same email address as the YouTube account.
Hard to say. They always claim it’s the algorithms, but someone had to write the algorithms and someone has to make judgment calls when the algorithm flags something. Several years ago I ran across a picture of their staff who makes these decisions. Not exactly what you call a balance of political views.
Good luck out there in the info wars. We are winning.
I feel for you, having a whole channel pulled. I’m thinking of posting vids myself and have started working on them, but the whole censorship thing gives me pause. Thanks for the support and the tips. You’re right, I do think the tide is turning.
Thank you. Funny thing is that I was censored just for commenting. I hadn’t posted a single video. Source of pride though to know that I was that much of a thorn in their side!!!