We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
~Abraham Lincoln
We are a family of Active Rain bloggers who have lost one of the most active members of the Active Rain real estate network.
Silent Majority is one of the top ten most active groups in this network and Bill Burress was and is the founder of this group.
While this group of conservative members consistently blog about todays important issues concerning of nation and government, which effects the real estate profession as well, the termination of such an important man is appalling.
The issue in question is whether Bill Burress used hate speech while answering one of the most liberal thinking bloggers on Active Rain. I would dignify this man by mentioning his name in this post.
This statement was taken totally out of its setting. This was a dialog between two different Active Rain members with two completely different political persuasions.
The post was name "Would you vote for a WHITE candidate" which in my opinion borderlines racism in the title. This was posted on the group "Dissent" which is a liberal group to say the least.
The person who was banned from Active Rain by Jonathan was simply stating facts from various other major political bloggers with no mention of racism in the other blogisphere community.
The definition of lemmings according to Wikipedia states
Lemmings are small rodents, usually found in or near the Arctic, in tundra biomes. Together with the voles and muskrats, they make up the subfamily Arvicolinae(also known as Microtinae), which forms part of the largest mammal radiation by far.
The myth of lemming mass suicide is long-standing and has been popularized by a number of factors.
Due to their association with this odd behaviour, lemming suicide is a frequently-used metaphor in reference to people who go along unquestioningly with popular opinion, with potentially dangerous or fatal consequences. This is the theme of the video game Lemmings, where the player attempts to save the mindlessly marching rodents from walking to their deaths.
Various political bloggers use the word lemming to demonstrate the herd mentality of certain ethic or religious groups who vote in a certain pattern without exception.
Many members have used this word on Active Rain posts without decisive action by Active Rain or Jonathan for that matter.
Do a search and you will find ten pages full of posts on Active Rain using the word lemmings without being terminated or suspended.
Even members of Active Rain staff have used the word, so forgive me if I am just a little concerned by this heavy handedness of one of the most active members on Silent Majority and was the founder of the top ten most active group in Active Rain.
Many have commented on this post cheering for the removal of this man without ever giving thought to his financila well being or the fact that anyone has really read the entire thread of comments, therefore coming to a conclusion without knowing all the facts.
People make mistakes, warn them, suspend if neccessary, but termination is something we should not be applauding.
Lenn Harley consistently blogs about plagiarism in Active Rain, but I don't see Jonathan termination their membership, which I believe is much more damaging to the professional image of Active Rain.
Lets be more consistent with the moderating of Active Rain before we lose many valuable bloggers in this great community.
I enjoy the diversity of all bloggers in this community. We have lost a brilliant mind today.
Agree or disagree, but censorship is not the answer.
Nicholas Goglucci, CRS ~ CLHMS, e-PRO ~ Re/Max Professional in South Florida
Congratulations this post is featured on Silent Majority!
We want Bill Burress reinstated as founder of Silent Majority~