2016âČs off to a shaky start in terms of internet fanbases and shit. Some of it is carrying over from discourse and fandom bullshit in 2015.
Then again 2015âČs whole flight, from liftoff to landing, was as comfortable as Apollo 13. And unlike moon landing flights, we donât get to delay when 2016 starts to make sure things happen more smoothly.
However weâve all ready have had at least two incidents - one involving another SU fan being bullied to nearly kill themselves over shipping Pearl/Dewey⊠and now a YouTuber has been accused by a dubious source of being a pedophile and child molester and everyoneâs gobbling it up.
So we gotta start changing things now. Promoting these ideas for a better online experience for all.
Bring back squick(ed). For the love of god stop oversaturating the word âtriggerâ more than it has been - the word you want is squick, not trigger. Squicked is when something makes you very uncomfortable, but doesnât trigger an anxiety/PTSD attack.
Realize that content creators have a right to draw what they want. If something offends you, you donât have to follow them. If theyâre personally mean to you, you donât have to follow them. You can walk away. Thatâs the beauty of the internet.
Critique content - people may think me telling you that you can leave means donât express why. Bollocks. Critique all you want - itâs justâŠ. how you word a critique matters. And critique isnât bullying. I will explain bullying in a different post. Make your critique with the intent that perhaps the content creator can take something tangible from it and work with it - and change.
Realize you can enjoy stuff without critique.
Artists, writers, creators⊠and onlookers - realize we canât change everything for one person, nor can we please everyone. Weâre all human, and most of us are trying to improve. However, we canât change overnight, and nor can we change for everyoneâs views. Take a general consensus and try to work from that.
Realize anyone can like any series. I have friends not on the LGBT+ spectrums who like Steven Universe. Iâm glad they like it. But it is not my place to gatekeep who can like and not like a show.
Realize people can disagree with your theory, headcanon, your shipping, etc.
Likewise, understand that just because youâre LGBT+, neuro-atypical, not-white or margianalized, doesnât mean people have to agree with your theories, headcanons, OTPs or whatever.
Not everything is social-politically motivated in nature. I get that the Eds in Ed, Edd ân Eddy might face various abuses in their family (we see Ed at the mercy of his kid sister, Eddâs parents make him do meanial chores, and Eddy outright is fearful of his brother) - I can see that. However to say the series is entirely centred on the woes of child abuse - I donât quite think thatâs what theyâre going for.
Not everything has to have some grimdark skew to it. Like I love a good Rainbow Factory style grimdark AU too, but thatâs not the show - and thatâs for the best. These two things are good to theorize about, or make alternative universes/takes on - but not everyone has to agree with it or cater to it.
and hereâs some not so positive (in the sense of uplifting) stuff we need to start doing as a whole that isnât so pleasant. But I feel enoughâs enough.
Stop bullying people to the point of suicide. I donât care if you think they abused your fatherâs sisterâs cousinâs former female roomate. Donât fucking do it.Â
When witnessing bullying online we need to come together and document this stuff and report it to the authorities. We need to find out the proper way to do this. Not turn it into a witch hunt like these people do, but eventually someone is going to get killed by the means of bullying to suicide. We need to send a clear message that no matter what youâre accusing the accused of doing, this is wrong.
Once reported to the authorities, we need to let them do their work. Donât leak this information to the public. Donât stoop to the levels these bullies do. Donât dox them, donât antagonize them further.
That said, as awful as some of these bullies are, not all of them are directly responsible for such heinous acts. Some are just really vicious assholes. However, speak out against their backwards bullshit. People are listening - and we want to know weâre not alone.
Just because you claim youâre doing social justice work doesnât mean youâre doing good work. Just because youâre gay/trans/black/etc⊠doesnât mean get to bully anyone else. In fact, letâs stop focusing solely on labels. Letâs look at the meat itself - the people behind the labels. Most people have a beef with you probably not because youâre [x/y/z] but because youâre a self-centered asshole who harasses people. Just a thought.
We need to start cutting off truly toxic individuals from ourselves. One of the common things I see with my friends is they donât want to be that person who cuts people out of their lives. However this is something the bullies I mentioned wonât. They wonât walk away from a toxic situation. Tell the person why youâre leaving in a civil, but not sugarcoated way, and hope they learn. Beyond that, Â itâs not your responsibility.
Finally⊠can we start just not making fandoms and online communities so hostile people are afraid of making the one mistake that is their undoing? And listen to word of god on such matters? Crewniverse and Toby Fox both spoke out about us not making the fandom garbage⊠can we try to do that?
