I rarely get on my soapbox, but today I want to talk to you about
This blog is called "DW Name and Shame," and it is the single most atrocious thing I've seen in the Whovian fandom to date.
The user who runs the blog, Cate, claims that other fans are guilty of hating/shaming the companions (who are, may I add, fictional characters that do not actually exist in the real world) and other members of the fandom (who are, in fact, actual people with actual feelings), and thus deserve to be publicly shamed on Tumblr and throughout the fandom.
Today she posted a list (which has since been taken down, funnily enough), of people who liked a perfectly harmless post on a Whovian gag blog. Because said blog has apparently used the word "cunt" in an insulting capacity, she considers this license to sic the Whovians on them, saying the following:
"I would not normally shame the people who like or reblog from a nasty ass site, but these guys are basically okaying the use of a misogynist slur by what is most likely a nasty ass white dude. Don't be cruel to them. Just unfollow. You don't want that shit on your dash anyway."
In an earlier post by the same user, we see the following:
People will call this negativity—say this is bullying. But here’s why they’re wrong:
I promise to never use anonymity to hurt people who are being bullied.
I will only ever name and shame people who are bullying others or being sexist or racist or homophobic or whatever.
Every action has an equal or opposite reaction, fuckers. And if you fuck up, if you bully someone, if you’re a piece of shit, then there’s some shit coming to you.
Does anyone else see the irony in this? She parades around under the banner of a feminist who never does anything wrong, when in reality she is a bully.
I'm all about standing up for what is right and making sure that people who need to be protected and looked after are. That is not what this is. This is not feminism, this is not fighting for the underdog, and this sure as hell is not making anything better for anyone. This is emotional terrorism at it's worst, because it's cruelty masked by righteousness. The sheer cowardice in her actions is absolutely astounding to me. There are ways to get what you want without hurting other people, especially when they've done literally nothing to deserve your attacks.
She broke rule 2 in publicly shaming people who had no idea what the blog may or may not be guilty of in the eyes of a single person. One user was issued a much-deserved retraction, but what about the others? What about the users who suffer from anxiety and are going to take this incredibly personally? Taking that list down does not erase the fact that it was ever posted in the first place, nor does it erase the damage it did.
If you're a Whovian, look at it this way:
Is this something the Doctor would support? Would he look at these actions and be proud of the human race?
