
Morons Funding the Fight Against Morons - Tomte
https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/about/faq#BecauseFuckNazisThatsWhy
======
emckay
Another similar idea is mission hedging.

If there is a company that you believe is causing some harm, you can buy
shares of that company and donate any proceeds to a charity that cancels out
that harm.

For example, if you are worried about climate change, you can buy shares of an
oil company and pledge to donate the proceeds to an organization lobbying for
a carbon tax.

If the oil company does well, the carbon tax lobby will need more financing,
which you'll be in a position to provide as a shareholder of the oil company.

This idea was developed by economist Brigitte Roth Tran:
[https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/files/2017042pap...](https://www.federalreserve.gov/econres/feds/files/2017042pap.pdf)
.

Hauke Hillebrandt also has a great write up:
[https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/iZp7TtZdFyW8eT5dA/...](https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/iZp7TtZdFyW8eT5dA/a-generalized-
strategy-of-mission-hedging-investing-in-evil)

~~~
legulere
You still support the company with buying their shares though. Seems like a
stupid idea.

~~~
sertorius
Buying shares doesn't necessarily mean you "support the company". You can be
an activist and vote against current management. In many cases, activist
investors have a big impact.

Realistically, it won't matter either way, but at least as an unhappy
shareholder you have infinitesimally more power to influence the company than
a grumbling outsider. Certainly more than the tiny amount of "support" that
your stock purchase will cause should they issue more shares.

~~~
AnthonyMouse
The greater risk is probably that if you _succeed_ , it will cause the oil
company's share price to decline dramatically. Which means you're essentially
committing to losing the money. If you're willing to do that you might as well
just donate the entire amount to advocating for a carbon tax to begin with,
instead of only the dividends.

~~~
sertorius
Fair enough, but I doubt many individuals would be able to do much more than
rein in the extremes - drilling in protected reserves, etc.

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kauffj
This is a fun idea, but it's a shame to see them funding the Southern Poverty
Law Center, which is quite questionable.

John Stossel: The Southern Poverty Law Center Scam
([https://reason.com/video/the-southern-poverty-law-center-
sca...](https://reason.com/video/the-southern-poverty-law-center-scam/))

Megan McArdle: Southern Poverty Law Center Gets Creative to Label "Hate
Groups"
([https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-09-07/southe...](https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2017-09-07/southern-
poverty-law-center-gets-creative-to-label-hate-groups))

~~~
ZeroGravitas
> Another group that the Southern Poverty Law Center smears is the Ruth
> Institute. The group argues that gays shouldn't have the same rights to
> adopt. But does that make them haters? No, says founder Jennifer Morse: "I
> have no problem with gay people. That's not the issue."

This quote from your article seems to indicate it's just people who either
don't realise they're bigots, or who think their bigotry is acceptable enough
to society that they can get away with it complaining about being called out.

I'd never heard of the Ruth Institute before, and thought they may be a very
focused adoption group based on the article. But I just read the latest thing
on their website and I can state clearly that they do have a problem with gay
people.

In a speech in Uganda she says that the death penalty usually isn't necessary
for crimes such as being gay, that gay people hijacked the civil rights
movement, that you shouldn't use the word 'gay' as that just plays into their
hands amongst other things that have a common theme of a very restrictive view
on sexual activity.

~~~
Chazprime
Telling gay people that they’re “morally unacceptable” is a textbook example
of hate.

But sure, as long as she claims she has no problem with gay people, she’s
probably a wonderful and misunderstood person.

~~~
loons2
If I inform death penalty advocates that their position is "morally
unacceptable," is that also a textbook example of hate?

~~~
ZeroGravitas
The problem with this kind of comment on a tech focused forum is that you can
never tell if the person saying it is truly oblivious to context, or if they
just think they can win a pedantic argument by pretending they are.

Yes, if you campaign to stop death penalty advocates from marrying or adopting
children, because you accuse them all of being pedophile rapists that are
destroying society and you knew that people were regularly killed for having
that belief then your attack on them as being "morally unacceptable" would be
textbook hate too.

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bertil
I’m curious if the money collected promoted one idea is comparable to the
money needed to compensate for the progress of that idea.

For instance, I’m not sure you’d be OK with ‘Drug trafficking is OK, as long
as the money goes to rehab clinics’.

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micheljansen
This is actually a clever idea. I've been using NFS for years for their
transparent and reasonable pricing and I doubt they would have been raking in
profits over this. If anyone from NFS is reading: might I suggest adding the
costs saved for not having to play whack-a-mole with these sites on top of the
donations?

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Tomte
Another example would be that some neonazi marches are accompanied by
protestors promising a certain monetary amount to a refugee relief
organization for every kilometer marched.

They show up along the march's path with signs thanking the neonazis for
participating in this fund raiser.

~~~
jacquesm
That's hilarious. It's like a reverse pledge to double. You do something nasty
I will do something good for the person you are nasty to multiplied by 'x'.

On the downside, of course they could reverse the same tactic, make it look
like they only march to do something good in the only way they know how to,
or, the internet being what it is the likes of 4chan would show up in very
large numbers _pretending_ to be neonazis.

This will get complicated in a hurry. But I like the basic idea.

~~~
tandr
I think the parent poster was too shy to mention that it actually happened -
[https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/neo-
nazis-...](https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/neo-nazis-
tricked-into-raising-thousands-for-anti-extremism-charity-168193/)

~~~
jacquesm
Priceless and nothing to be shy about.

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petermcneeley
Indulgences of the 21st century.

