Down the rabbit hole

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead

~~ "White Rabbit" by Jefferson Airplane

I recently got into a brief discussion with someone when Ken brought up the subject of Alex Jones and his ban from several social media sites. (I told Ken later, "I can't punch you because you have cancer!")

I said that I thought the final straw was Jones saying that Sandy Hook was a hoax. The response was, "He didn't say that." 

I was a little taken aback and said, "Yes, he did." 

The response to that was, "There's a lot of misinformation out there. Find a clip where he said that and send it to me."

So I found the clip where he said it. Audio AND video.

And I sent it. 

Six days later, I got a response:

To all my friends and family, 
When it comes to our views on politics and religion, they are wide and varied, yet I believe we can find common ground in the bedrock of our First Amendment. We must support the right of all voices to be heard, or we will all be silenced. Please contact your government representatives urging them to reject censorship and uphold free speech. 
Respectfully, XXXXXX

That is some pure-D bullshit right there. I'm pissed. Let's break it down.

First, it was sent to only two of us. Hardly "all my friends and family." 

Second, Jones's comments were on social media sites, which have terms of use. If you violate those terms, these companies have every right to ban you from their site. 

Third, nobody is silencing Alex Jones. He still has a website and I guess he still has a radio show. I really don't know because he is not someone I pay close attention to because he is a fucking LUNATIC. This is not a censorship issue, it's an issue of hate speech, slander, fraud, and abuse of various social media platforms. 

Fourth, this Jones asshole said that the parents who lost children in a school shooting at Sandy Hook were ACTORS. That they faked their children's deaths. This is vile, unconscionable, and there is absolutely no defense of it. If you're defending this, I question both your morality and your sanity. 

Finally, this person should have had the guts to address me directly. Even if they couldn't do it in person, they should have had the decency to use my goddamn NAME in their response. My email with the video was not an attack in any way. I was kind, respectful, and loving. I was challenged to find a clip of Jones saying that Sandy Hook was a hoax because this person said, "He never said that." I found the clip and sent it to them and I got this shitty, generic response. 

No, I cannot and will not cut ties with this person for various reasons. But I have lost respect for them when it comes to this sort of thing. This showed me that they are in complete denial and will not accept any refutation of their worldview and narrative. I wrote recently that I was done trying to argue with supporters of the "president." This experience reinforces that. I attempted this outreach in good faith and this is what I got. It's not just a matter of not wanting to waste my time or energy. 

It's also that anyone who sends an email like this in response to my proof isn't worthy of debating me.