Yeah, while my politics are typically fairly in line with the average Reddit user, I have little tolerance for bandwagoning or purposely misconstruing the opposition, so I always tried to emphasize that “while I totally agree with X, we shouldn’t pretend that there’s some huge outcry for Y or that Z is actually illegal anywhere in the US.” Usually didn’t matter, and I got banned anyway.

But I guess when your identity is super wrapped up in being online and a mod, you need to feel like you got a win against the evils of the world.

“This!” - 1.4k votes

[Exact same comment being parroted, but with a much more extreme fervor about killing people who disagree] - 600 votes

“Wait. That’s not even what the article says. We shouldn’t be jumping to conclusions.” - “You have been permanently banned from large subreddit.”

“But if I lose my fragile grip on this iota of power, I’ll have nothing, and I’ll BE nothing. I can’t start over again from nothing!”

True. But there are tons of sycophant netizens who crave that tiny amount of power over their niche communities so that they can control at least something in their lives.

You have been banned from [random large subreddit] for pointing out something that threatens the hivemind POV.

Honestly, that was my biggest problem with the community. Granted, that’s great when someone is being a genuine asshole, but over the last decade or so, it has become a little ridiculous.