Yes, it was a little hyperbolic, but again, my point is that just because I follow him, doesn't mean I agree with everything he posts or says, and I don't think it's morally wrong to expose oneself to conflicting or even hateful ideas; those are the kind of ideas that make me angry and impassioned. If we want to extend the "mold" metaphor here, I like to think of myself someone who studies all the different kinds of mold, who can tell the different species apart, and perhaps even identify the difference between mold and just really ugly wallpaper.

Back in high school, I used to spend a lot of time seeking out Christians on the internet with hateful opinions against gay people (I'm gay, btw), trying to understand where they were coming from, sometimes arguing against them. It was often futile, but occasionally I would find people who could still hold a respectful discussion, and I'd like to think that I (and the people I engaged with) grew from those experiences.

In college, I would often listen to this preacher who would come on campus to preach "Christianity," but really it was mostly sexism, racism, bigotry, and anti-intellectualism; one of my favorite pastimes was standing there between classes and listening to him, sometimes arguing with his supporters. I liked to hear the arguments, seeing which ones were strong, which ones were weak, sometimes laughing at the angry ones who would just shout an obscenity in response. It wasn't for everyone, my partner hated even being around him, which is just different strokes for different folks. Sure, on one hand he was getting the audience and attention that he craved, and even the negativity he received probably only served to reinforce some deep-seated persecution complex, but I think in the long run, he only hurt his cause.

If you want to tar me for following him, or not blocking him, or for being a white cis male, by all means, go right ahead, I'll be the last person to stop you. For the record, I'm in favor of making it more public when someone has a bunch of people blocked or muted, so we can see the people who carefully curate echo chambers in their posts. This idea has been discussed and the admins seem to have good reasons for not implementing it, so perhaps there are different solutions.