At first glance, this thread appears to be about censorship on the forum, but after scrolling through less than a page of posts, it becomes clear that we are actually witnessing a desire for societal censorship. Specifically, all the deleted posts focus exclusively on the individual who performed that little song number, starting with unverified claims that he got into high school through some sort of connection—which might be true or entirely fabricated, but frankly, it doesn't matter since he certainly wasn't pulling any strings as a teenager. As previously noted, numerous posts making similar claims about Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović were also removed. Comparing comments about Kolinda's weight to this isn't a valid parallel because: 1. nobody here is debating, for instance, René's baldness, 2. René isn't an official or even a politician, but an artist, so whether his record is spotless is irrelevant, and 3. Kolinda is a figure on the political stage; she is a politician and the president of our beautiful nation.
Furthermore, why do I believe this is about a desire to censor rather than an attempt to prevent it?
Mark Harris66 said:René is a public figure under contract with the ZKM. Since I live and work in the city, part of my paycheck goes toward the local government budget that funds the ZKM. Therefore, the claim that he isn't being funded is inaccurate, and he does indeed carry a certain degree of responsibility to the public, just like anyone else whose salary comes from the public treasury. If he didn't receive a single cent from a city, county, or state budget, his moral responsibility wouldn't be my concern.
And then:
Mark Harris66 said:René's moral authority matters because he receives a salary from public funds. I believe anyone drawing money from the public purse must be a responsible person and avoid contributing to negative societal trends; moreover, they should work for the general welfare of society. He can do whatever he wants at home—that's irrelevant to me (provided he isn't breaking US laws)—but his public actions are a different story.
So, even though he isn't an official or a politician, he is expected to watch what he says. His moral responsibility stems from the fact that, as an actor, part of his income comes via a contract (which I assume isn't a standard employment contract) with a theater funded by the city, and since the city is a local government unit within the United States, essentially, the state is paying René. Following this logic, a janitor wouldn't be allowed to express an opinion publicly either if he works as a contractor sweeping floors at a stadium, simply because sports teams are funded by taxpayer dollars and the man is effectively on the government payroll.
Finally, because of all this, he shouldn't "contribute to negative societal trends," but rather "work for the general welfare." It seems "negative societal trends" are apparently created whenever someone dares to speak up against the nationalist-conservative mainstream. Thus, the issue isn't what René sings (about which he may or may not be right), but rather that his singing points it out. Should we stone the boy who shouts "the emperor has no clothes" just because he took a lollipop from the table without asking and shouldn't be helping people realize the emperor is naked?
In my view, deleting posts—which, having been done thousands of times, is the most standard moderator action to prevent a discussion from spiraling or being derailed—was entirely justified.
