dang.
had a conversation with old PI today about white supremacist organizing on the internet.
he was genuinely surprised at how much I knew about it, like, "you must be deep into the internet!" and it's like
no, not really?
it's just that once you start noticing it, you kinda don't stop, and you want to do what you can to report it and get it removed
so yeah, that's how I knew about the organizing happening on Twitter and Facebook
like "deep on the internet" in the sense that before I locked my Twitter account (and eventually deleted it) I had more than one of them find me, sure, because how dare you exist and be happy as a BIPOC on the ol' internets.
ditto doing "fun outreach" stuff aimed at BIPOC students via Facebook and the like.
like.
these people don't HIDE or anything. they're not ashamed, why would they?
the obnoxious ones are smart enough not to list where they work or go to school, so apart from useless Facebook reports, there were no repercussions.
if you're white and you use the internet, you have a duty to ensure that the spaces you are in are not a safe space for white supremacists. no, "oh but I like this person and they've never done anything in MY group" -- listen to us. listen to what we have to say. report people to the mods or if it's an ongoing problem, *leave the fucking group and let people know why you're leaving*.
make mods explain their decisions. make it uncomfortable. make it weird.
it's the LEAST you can do.
@hafnia Captain Awkward's latest letter is a long thoughtful answer full of practical advice about how to deal with your racist friends "who aren't THAT bad" etc.etc., if people reading this want examples of what we should be looking out for and what we should do about it.
https://captainawkward.com/2021/01/11/1308-how-do-i-deal-with-my-edgelord-friend/
Thanks. I needed this today.
@bright_helpings
That is a damn good link and i just wanna pull out "the possibility of overreacting to something is so embarrassing, so inherently mockable, that it’s probably safer and smarter to not react at all." Because wow. Uh. Yeah. That.
Also, realised that the whole "well, they're good deep down!" is basically saying "yeah, they're an asshole everywhere above that, but it's fine actually"
@hafnia
@bright_helpings @hafnia I am super glad I followed this thread to find this link. Thanks for making it more visible so I could read it. Oof!
@bright_helpings @hafnia this is such a good post. Thank you for sharing.
@maloki Captain Awkward is the best, it is known @bright_helpings
@bright_helpings Do you mind if I boost this?
@estebanm go for it!
@hafnia seconding this, and emphasizing for the audience (as a mod) that mods -- even well-meaning ones -- have a ton of structural pressures not to act until someone Makes It Uncomfortable and forces the issue
and that that's almost always what it takes, unless moderating your community is their day job (and sometimes even if it is)
this is the opposite of radical and it falls under the "regular maintenance" heading, but goddam, it is necessary if you want to keep your spaces safe.
it's low-stakes for you! it is not low-stakes for me and other BIPOC.