people like Cantwell call out for murder loud and clear.
Yes, that Cantwell person did. Fortunately we can all see it, condemn it, and hold him responsible – not just morally but legally. Utterly, utterly, utterly despicable.
Here is 1 aspect of this situation that drives me nuts. I'm an atheist, and I don't believe that bigots like Cantwell can or should be saved. I want them condemned irrevocably.
Rob, however, is a very sincere christian who believes that evangelism is a duty, that everyone can be and deserves to be "saved" or rehabilitated. Rob looks at a person like Cantwell and sees an opportunity to bring someone to Jesus. Rob himself would describe many "Saul on the road to Damascus" moments, where someone has had a 180-degree change of heart. (For those of you who don't know the Bible like the back of your hand, the story goes that Saul once persecuted Jesus. But on the road to Damascus he had a vision that changed his life completely, whereafter he changed his name from Saul to Paul.) For christians like Rob, it is an absolute duty to help people who are wrong – as clearly Cantwell is – find the truth. In practice, this means that Rob – who is a tolerant conservative – breaks bread with people on the extreme right, simply because he has encountered them since allowing the transfer of Gab.com to Epik.
I think Rob is naïve here. And he's playing with fire because most people will misconstrue his willingness to talk to someone like Cantwell. I don't believe for half a second that a violent racist like Cantwell is going to repent and see the error of his ways. But I also know – because I was raised as a christian myself – that for Rob this kind of outreach is a moral imperative of the highest order. Rob can't do anything else but talk to someone as a brother, no matter how morally repugnant or mistaken they may be.
Does this mean Rob is a saint or an angel? No, not at all. Rob himself has some very erroneous beliefs – such as seeing this video as a hoax. Yet that doesn't change the fact that Rob is sincere about trying to change the beliefs even of neo-Nazis.
This is complicated, folks.
You can be a nice guy, a family man, committed to your religion and community, and still be hateful toward other groups, bigoted, and so forth.
Very true. But Rob is not hateful. I have worked alongside him daily for 2 years. And I have seen how he treats employees, customers, an colleagues who are muslim, Jewish, women, gay, any group you could name. In practice, Rob has only treated them with tolerance and kindness. Are Rob's opinions correct? No. But is he a "bigoted" or "hateful" person? No. Far from it.
Rob is not the victim here.
No, Rob is not the victim. And I don't wish to portray him as one. Rob offended most of his employees and muslims around the world (to the extent that they run across this scandal). He alienated members of the domain industry, caused customer to question their commitment to the company, and damaged Epik's reputation among the general public. All of this was completely unnecessary. In short, Rob screwed up and needs to reappraise some of his decisions and news sources. I hope he will. Also, Epik's position needs to be redefined more sharply as that of political neutrality.
Rob is not the victim. At the same time, much of the criticism of Rob and Epik has gone too far. Calling him a neo-Nazi, for example, or implying that he is a racist who celebrates the death of muslims or who applauds antisemitic slurs against members of Epik's board. That's all totally false.