Reddit Is PISSED That /r/FatPeopleHate Has Been Banned

BuzzFeed – Reddit announced Wednesday it was banning several of the site’s communities, known as subreddits, under a new anti-harassment policy led by interim CEO Ellen Pao. “Our goal is to enable as many people as possible to have authentic conversations and share ideas and content on an open platform,” the announcement from Pao and other site leaders said. “We want as little involvement as possible in managing these interactions but will be involved when needed to protect privacy and free expression, and to prevent harassment.” The statement noted the removal of five subreddits, most with no more than a few thousand subscribers. “Fat People Hate,” however, had more than 150,000 subscribers. The group was the 230th largest subreddit based on subscribers at the time of its ban, according to redditmetrics.com. The other subreddits banned were dedicated to transphobia, racism, harassing gamers, as well as another on fat-shaming. The bans come almost a month after Reddit unveiled a new set of rules aimed at prohibiting harassment on the site, actions they defined as, “systematic and/or continued actions to torment or demean someone.” Redditors responded to Wednesday’s announcement by asking for more clarification on how the policy would be enforced. “Is there going to be transparency as to how subreddits are determined to be harrasing? [sic],” wrote SilvanestitheErudite. Some argued that Reddit was being selective of which communities to expunge, ignoring the racist subreddit Coontown, which has more than 10,000 subscribers. “We’re banning behavior, not ideas,” Pao explained in a subsequent comment on the site. “While we don’t agree with the content of the subreddit, we don’t have reports of it harassing individuals.” The sites angriest users flooded Reddit on Wednesday night with degrading pictures of obese people and insulting images of Pao, who became interim CEO of the company in 2014. She is also well-known for a landmark lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins for gender discrimination, which is in the appeals process. A petition to have Pao fired was started Wednesday night. Alternative fat-related subreddits were also started by users on the site.

There are certain basic human rights that exist in this world. I’m not even talking about America. I’m talking about the planet earth. Certain unalienable rights that every man, woman, and child have.

And one of those rights is making fun of The Fats. Discriminating against fat people is universal. In my mind it actually promotes and encourages ethnic harmony. Because you know what every race has? You know every country has? What both genders have? Fat people. Thats common ground for every different group on this planet. An Asian woman can sit down with an African man and make fun of a fat white man. Hating fat people breaks down all sorts of other barriers. Because everyone hates the Fats. Even fat people hate fat people. So banning an internet forum dedicated to something that people of all walks of life love so so much is just not right. Its oppression. By not allowing us to persecute the fats you’re discriminating against the rest of the world. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. Even in this case where the fat people weigh a fucking ton.

Trying to stop the world from making fun of fat people is like trying to stop the sun from rising in the morning. The internet…specifically Reddit, should realize this. Fat haters are like the Whitewalker Army of the Dead. They cannot be stopped.

PS – The “No single person in history has ever done more damage to a community” is either hilarious hyperbole or delusional hyperbole and either way I think its fantastic