Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

The terms "Jewish Question" etc. were used far before the Nazis by Balfour and even by the (most famous) Zionist Theodor Herzl himself:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Der_Judenstaat

The Nazis of course picked it up for different purposes. As always, the question is whether to outlaw entire phrases because they have also been used by the Nazis at one point.

This "$X question" case, where $X is not an ethnic group, is so generic that the accusations are ridiculous and probably just a pretext to expel someone whom the persons in power did not like. A defamation lawsuit would be appropriate.



And one could argue that it's counterproductive to ban symbols that have been co-opted by hate groups regardless of context, because doing so legitimizes their use as hate symbols, and by proxy legitimizes the hate groups that use them.


FYI, the term was first used in Britain in 1750, according to the term's Wikipedia page[0], which discusses how the term was used in different countries in a neutral way until about 1860 in Germany, at which point it was used in a more antisemitic context.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_question




Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: