#this person made a post sharing an opinion on unlearning racism. and i added my opinion because i too

[mogai-sunflowers]

Am I the only one who really hated the year where the "nobody asked thing" happened a ton? It was used against me a lot whenever I overshared and as an autistic person I have trouble regulating that so I just stopped talking at all.

YEAH IT'S SO RUDE AND FOR NO FUCKING REASON??????????????? one time someone said that exact thing to me and i had a panic attack and felt so horrible but now looking back on it....... yes! yes you DID ask!!! because you made a public post with an opinion and gave absolutely no instruction as to who you wanted to respond! this is on YOU! /nay anon

#🌌written in the stars ; asks🌌 #im so sorry anon thats really sucky #u can overshare with me anytime and i wont be like that and im dead serious. #the way internet leftism practically requires you to be perfect is so fucking annoying #people act like if you aren't a part of a certain group that youre an asshole if you ever engage in convos about said group. #which is fucking RIDICULOUS!! #like for context #this person made a post sharing an opinion on unlearning racism. and i added my opinion because i too #am a person who has had to unlearn racism. what a shocker. #so i added on agreeing with their point and adding a little of my own insight. #and they responded saying they didnt ask for my white opinion and i needed to shut up #and its like. i understand and respect if you dont want white people interacting with your posts. but you DIDNT SAY THAT! #and sense you didnt i assumed that it was okay to add my opinion because THATS HOW HUMAN CONVERSATIONS WORK!!!! #it was perfectly normal for me to engage in a discussion on racism. i wasn't speaking on an issue i have no say in #i was simply talking about the importance of unlearning racism and doing the work because i have experience with that and its true. #this is true for all nuances and group dynamics im just talking about this rn #please dont get me wrong im not trying to undermine the importance of centering poc #and im not in any way trying to say that white people are always qualified to talk about racism or that we should always share our opinions #OR that poc are obligated to be nice to white people when they're disrespectful to them. #but my point is here that i was entirely within my lane #entirely respectful #but because i misinterpreted a social situation that was not at all clear i was suddenly the bad guy #and its infuriating because this has happened so many times. im not a bad person for getting shit wrong and its done so much and i mean SO #FUCKING #MUCH #harm to my mental health to think of myself as a failure because of my mistakes #it's just. ugh. stop

[kittyknowsthings]

Hey. I want to tell you that Gaud is a racist, pedo and lesbophobe among other horrible things. I have a link of a Google Doc compiling everything if you'd like to read it.

Hey yourself!

From what I have seen of Gaud, every time they have fucked up, and  fucking up is in human nature and not avoidable, they have been willing  to change and respond to feedback - when people explained to them how  bad the cult jokes were, they stopped, asked their followers to stop  as well and apologized for the pain they caused several times.

Notice I did not say "You are wrong" - I am not infallible, and may have missed things.

I am saying "The concerns you are expressing run counter to my experience with this person."

In general, if you have grievances with them, I suggest taking it up with them, but confronting people you are wary of can be very scary, so I shall try my best to address your concerns:

The  only trouble I ever saw them in with the lesbian community was over a  gentle useless lesbian meme that was A meant affectionately in a very  obvious manner and B they have apologized for.

Since they  have zero patience for child abusers of any kind, and are an abuse  survivor themselves, I find it very hard to believe they would sexually  abuse children or endorse others doing so.

I am white, and I am still working on unlearning the racism society imparted on me, and am therefore in no way qualified to comment on their racism or lack thereof, and will defer to tumblrs’ PoC community in this issue - in fact I’ll do some research of my own on that, shortly.

Guessing from your bio, you are still rather young, and nuance does not come easy to the young - hell, it doesn’t always come easy to the elders,  either, or anyone in between, especially for those of us on the spectrum who prefer clear rules and lines.  

You trusted my judgement enough to reach out to me with your concerns, and I appreciate that.  

Trust my judgement a bit further, okay?

You say you have evidence, and from the way you worded I presume you were not the one who compiled it. Have you read it critically?

Not in the sense of "finding fault", but in the sense of processing it in detail, the way you would a source for say, an English essay in school.

Who wrote it? What bias may they have had? Were they angry, sad, happy, vindictive when they wrote it? Are they trustworthy?

What was their intention in writing and sharing it? Are they attempting to present information to let you make up your own mind, or are they trying to change your mind?

Are they trying to present facts, or to elicit an emotional reaction from you and then capitalise on it?

Are they calling on you to protect yourself, or to go spread the word, or harass the person they are calling out?

Are things presented in context, or out of context? Is a personal vent treated as a PSA? Is a sleep-deprived joke made in poor taste presented as textual opinion? Was it something rude they said in the heat of the moment they've regretted, apologized for, and deleted since instead claimed to be current?

Are the posts in question both properly dated, and verifiable?

It is very easy to fake tumblr post screenshots (or, for that matter screenshots of tweets, facebook posts, or text messages) with even a limited grasp of HTML.

[image description: a screenshot of the ask from lleavethecity, with the text changed to say "I really like Jasper"]

Look at this screenshot where I edited your ask. You know that is not what you wrote to me, yet it took me less than a minute to make it look like you had. I could have changed this to something much more sinister, had I wanted. With a bit of extra effort, I could have taken a screenshot of the entire browser window, my entire desktop, or even lead someone to look at it on a screen-sharing service like teamviewer, and it still would have looked like that is what you have written me.

More insidiously, I could easily change smaller things as well - take a post that someone made years ago, and change the date to make it look recent instead -  that's just one of the many examples I could come up with.

Technology is only ever as good or bad as the people who are using it.

Who shared it with you, and what was their intention?

Do you trust their judgement on all things implicitly, or do they have their own biases to contend with?

Are you familiar enough with common cognitive fallacies like strawman arguments, moving the goalposts, or ad hominem-attacks to spot them when they are employed?

You need to do your research, and apply critical thinking to what you learn, to come to your own conclusions - one way or another.

#lleavetheciity