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PSA ON HATE SPEECH & CENSORSHIP
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The Poet’s List launched in March of 2014 and we have made it through the beginning – and through the thick of – cancel culture with our integrity intact. This is largely due to our wonderful community of poets who see past the perpetual attempts at divisiveness.
But since things continue to escalate in our country and abroad, let me affirm: The Poet’s List does not tolerate hate speech. We live in a time where silence – or an opposing opinion – is automatically equated with hate speech. But, I assure you it is not. Hate speech is hate speech; and it has no place on our site.
We have never censored the opinions of our poets. But, we will redact – or may refuse to print – any interview (or answer) that falls under the category of hate speech. We will continue to do our very best to discern passionate opinions from hate speech so that we don’t unintentionally cross the line into censorship.
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As it relates to The Poet’s List, we remain a neutral entity, regardless of the opinion of the founder, our contributors or affiliates. Therefore, the entity of The Poet’s List has not and will not ever provide a statement or opinion on:
- Donald Trump
- Republicans, Conservatives
- Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Liberals
- Democrats
- Hamas, Israel, Gaza, Iran
- Russia, Ukraine
- China, Taiwan
- Black Lives Matter
- Law Enforcement
- LGBT, Pride
- Immigration
- Supreme Court, Federal or State Decisions
- Domestic or Foreign attacks
…or any other non-poetry related issue, be it: political, geo-political, social justice, gender-related, economic, racial, etc.
Of course, we will run poems, articles or interviews which cover or make mention of these topics, so long as they do not include hate speech.
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We, of course, hope that you do not choose to part ways with us now. But, if you do: we are here should you choose to return.
As we always say, we hope that The Poet’s List continues to be a safe space for you to explore poetry and form connections.
We love all of you, dearly, and we deeply appreciate the ten years of support.
Best,
Alexzenia Davis, Founder
The Poet’s List
August 7th, 2024