| "Either: - It is wrong to denigrate any group (religion, race, ethnicity, etc); or - It is okay to denigrate any group (religion, race, ethnicity, etc); or - It is wrong to denigrate certain groups (religion, race, ethnicity, etc) but not others. It appears that we're in the third category." Because someone has said that supporting slavery is deeply, possibly unforgivably, wrong? Your third category is "religion, race, ethnicity, etc". Where does "believes some people were born to be slaves and others were born to be their masters" fit into that? Again, you're making a slippery slope argument, in what you call a "different way", but it looks the same to me. Perhaps I'm still not understanding you. Am I understanding that you believe no groups should ever be denigrated? So, we shouldn't denigrate white supremacists and neo-Nazis? Why not? We shouldn't denigrate mass murderers? Why not? We shouldn't denigrate dictators? How about religious fundamentalists who prevent girls from getting an education because they are girls? Can I denigrate them? They aren't physically hurting anyone, they aren't "violent". But, I think the civilized world should shun them. There are, in fact, groups that most of us denigrate. I don't think repugnant beliefs should be considered sacred or free from criticism. Who makes those decisions? Well, I do, you do, organizations do, sometimes governments do. "Therefore, whoever gets to define that list is in a position of great power to punish some while excusing others for the same action." You're begging the question, and not answering mine. "And - as we've seen - since the stakes seem to be the livelihoods of the people involved, it's an important conversation to have." I have not seen that. Has this person lost their job because someone doesn't want to go to a conference with them? Though I would be entirely comfortable with overt racism and support of human slavery being a firing offense at any company. Again, slippery slope is a fallacy. Supporting slavery is not a religion, a race, an ethnicity, an age, a gender, a sexual preference, or any other protected class. |