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eBay lays the smackdown on "murderabilia."

Discussion in 'Serious' started by Malvolio, 10 Mar 2006.

  1. Malvolio

    Malvolio .

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    A black BMW that apparently belonged to Columbine High School killer Dylan Klebold - which was carrying explosives on the day of the shootings - was on eBay for three days before the company yanked the listing Monday for promoting "murderabilia."

    "If the owner wanted to sell this car, there's nothing stopping them from doing so," said eBay spokesman Hani Durzy. "They just can't market it as being owned by Dylan Klebold."

    The March 3 listing was what eBay officially terms "offensive material," or in this case "murderabilia," Durzy added.

    "EBay may also, in its discretion and out of respect for the families of murder victims, remove listings of items closely associated with individuals notorious for committing murderous acts within the last 100 years," according to the company Web site.



    I'm too tired to form a realistic response, so I'm just going to post this.


    Yay for work... I think...
     
  2. Cthippo

    Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag

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    THisbis what happens when you get a company founded by a single mom. Same reason that after eBay bought Paypal, you could no longer use Paypal to pay for porn you bought on eBay, not that that stopped anyone. Sadly, eBay has no real competition to speak of. Maybe someone should start a site called evilBay for all the stuff eBay has banned! :thumb:
     
  3. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    Sorry, but a righteous ban in my opinion. I do not think it is appropriate to flog the props to other people's tragedies on the internet.
     
  4. modderino

    modderino What's a Dremel?

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    Maybe stuff like jack the ripper and such but to try and sell a car involvded in a crime is disrespectful to the victims family!!!!
     
  5. Max Tractor

    Max Tractor Minimodder

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    Maybe they could have a look at their offensive fees
     
  6. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    Maybe you could make a relevant comment.
     
  7. Max Tractor

    Max Tractor Minimodder

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    Lets deal with the relevancy, you find my comment "irrelevant" yet give it relevancy by directly commenting toward it, thus making it relevant, not only to I, but strangely to you.
     
    Last edited: 12 Mar 2006
  8. m4rk3d

    m4rk3d Minimodder

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    With you on this to a degree, but where do you draw the line?

    Is military memorabilia allowable? Buying genuine items from wars in which thousands or millions died seems mightily close, yet is an acceptable field for eBay. I've seen items from the Vietnam war on eBay, a war in which terrible atrocities were carried out, yet there is no outcry over these.

    Where does the grey become black?
     
  9. <A88>

    <A88> Trust the Computer

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    Talking out of your backside doesn't really do you any favours here, I wouldn't try that one again...
    I think eBay had every right to close this auction- trying to make financial gain by exploiting or indeed 'promoting' the fact that it was used to assist the murders of school kids really implies that the seller lacks respect for the circumstances under which they're selling it. Furthermore, I don't feel it would be a wise decision to ommit the information from the auction either, as I'd feel I have a right as the purchaser to know if the car I'd just bought had been driven by some deranged murderer. In conclusion, it shouldn't be sold!

    <A88>
     
  10. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    Where it becomes personal. I'm a bit dubious about some war memorabilia anyway (like swastikas), but where we are talking about a very personal tragedy where the victims and perpetrator are known by name, such as in cases of murder or rape I think it is out of bounds.

    Tackle grammar before you tackle philosophy. And just stick to the discussion topic, please... :rolleyes:
     
  11. .308AR

    .308AR What's a Dremel?

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    Ebay is a private company. I can't sell or buy totally legal guns and certain gun parts using Paypal or Ebay. I'm sure that's what you mean Cthippo. ;)
     
  12. Hybr1d

    Hybr1d Bаnned

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    Damn straight.


    What's next? A copy of Manhunt owned by the 17 year old murderer of an innocent 14 year old kid? Or maybe the knife that killed Luke Walmsley?

    Things are getting way out of control in this world.
     
  13. Malvolio

    Malvolio .

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    So, wait, you're saying that war memorabilia is not personal? Thanks for deficating on many vet's memories :thumb:

    To a lot of war vet's any and all war memorabilia is personal. The line is not in fact black and white ;)
     
  14. Cthippo

    Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag

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    I don't see why being the victim of a crime, or in this case the relative of a victim entitles you to be protected from things that might be offensive. To me, this is in many ways similar to the recent debate over the cartoons of Mohamed. In that case muslims felt that the cartoons were offensive to their religion and to them personally, and because of this they felt that they should be banned from publication. The concensus then was that it was not reasonable to ban an image because a group might find it to be offensive. Why is this any different?
     
  15. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    It is not personal in the fact that your rape/assault/murder, or that of your loved one, was not splashed over the media with name and surname and close-up photographs for everyone to ogle over.

    Of course, you may think different. You may find there is no difference between buying a grenade shell from the Vietnam war, and to buy a piece of the very napalm grenade that specifically burned Kim Phuc at Trang bang. You may find no difference between buying a gun from that war, and buying the very gun of General Nguyen Ngoc Loan which he used to head-shoot a prisoner as an NBC camerman filmed the now infamous footage.

    I think it is different. These items would attain a totally new significance (and, perversely, commercial value) because of their association with these very specific, very personal events. It would not be about the object, or about the war they featured in, but about the death and suffering of specific people. You heard their story. You saw their pictures. You saw them suffer and die. Now you can own an item associated with their death. That is intrusive and sick.

    To war vets, war memorabilia are indeed personal. As such I think you will find that many vets find the sale of war memorabilia to people whose closest experience of a war has been to watch "Commando" or play "Tour of Duty" on the Playstation, rather tasteless and offensive. I doubt, in fact, whether many war vets themselves go around collecting stuff beyond owning perhaps a few items of personal significance they brought home themselves.

    I too, question people's interest in SS daggers and war uniforms, or in re-playing the Vietnam war in their local forrest as if it were some sort of game. When I lived in Arnhem, the Netherlands, I could still see the shrapnel holes in numerous buildings from when the Germans invaded. I have heard the stories from pensioners who were there, from my own father, even, who was a child at the time. To me, war always feels kinda personal, so I don't get this whole thing about "war memorabilia" anyway. I feel it is that which defacates (get the spelling?) on the memories of war vets, not my attitude.
     
  16. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    OK, thought experiment. Someone shoots your wife. Years later the gun that was used appears on eBay sold specifically as "the gun that killed Mr. Cthippo's wife!!!".

    What would be upsetting to you is that your wife's death, her and your personal suffering would be exploited commercially. The associated disrespect and dismissal of the worth and importance of your feelings.

    Arguably that is also why the Muslims are so ticked off about those cartoons, but they are not suffering. They did not experience a tragedy that is being made fun of. They can dismiss a cartoon, which has no real impact on their lives really, a lot easier than you could dismiss the murder of your wife.
     
  17. Cthippo

    Cthippo Can't mod my way out of a paper bag

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    Yes, that wuld be upsetting to me (moreso if I had a wife), but so what? I do not have a right to be protected from things that might upset me.

    The basic premise is that my rights end when they impinge on the rights of others and vice-versa. If someone else legally owns the gun used to kill my theoretical wife, then I don't think that I would have a reasonable claim to deny him or her the right to market it as such. That person has the right to market the gun in that way, I have the right to get mad about it, but I should not have the right to prevent him or her from doing whatever they please with the gun.

    What eBay is doing is trying to enforce good taste as they percieve it through a set of arbitrary rules, and that is what I object to. Good taste and reasonable conduce (as opposed to lawful) is a choice. If you find the product being offered or they way it is marketed to be be offensive or in poor taste, then don't buy it. On the other hand, just because you don't like somthing doesn't mean that it should not be allowed.
     
  18. Nexxo

    Nexxo * Prefab Sprout – The King of Rock 'n' Roll

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    The problem with reason is that you can rationalise anything. At some point you have to draw the line at what is human; what is compassionate, sensible, and enlightened.

    I could have, say, a realistic sculpture in my back garden of a woman being raped by a chainsaw: my choice and right, freedom of expression, yada yada, but the neighbours might understandably feel that this is inappropriate material to expose their five-year old to. Now I have a choice. I can exercise my right, or I can be, like responsible in the exercise of my rights and freely decide to limit them in favour of maintaining decent community relationships and not traumatising a little child. What's the human thing to do? Because that is what it all comes down to.

    eBay obviously decided that the human thing to do was to pull the auction (whether this is because of personal principle or PR considerations is another story). It's their site, their rules (which are by no means arbitrary).
     
  19. RotoSequence

    RotoSequence Lazy Lurker

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    Nexxo, that is a SICK analogy o_O
     
  20. Peanut[UK]

    Peanut[UK] What's a Dremel?

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    Wasn't it the Luke Walmsley killing that prompted the "Ban this Sick Filth" headline in the Daily Mail? Because the killer alledgedly had a copy of "Manhunt" in his bedroom?

    Oh, but wait, the Mail got it all arseways, and it was actually the victim that had a copy in his room. Although no apology for hysterical and misleading gutter journalism by narrow minded buffoons was ever issued.

    Sorry for off-topic. Don't believe the hype.
     

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