A recent discussion about #inclusivity on one of the goth groups I follow got a bit heated, and the admins pulled the plug. Okay, it happens. Hardly anyone wants people screaming at each other in their virtual living room.

Every subculture I've ever been part of has had the same problem. #Punk, #goth, #science #fiction #fandom, #hackerdom, maybe a few I'm not thinking of at the moment.

#Subcultures are *in general* more accepting and inclusive than society as a whole, yes. People who are seen as weird and scary by the #mainstream find groups of other people who have had the same experience. This leads to groups that welcome refugees of all kinds. All to the good.

Then the idea becomes part of the group's identity. Instead of understanding that people in the group tend to be more tolerant than others because of their experiences, they start assuming that being part of the group automatically *makes* them less prejudiced.

"We can't be racist / sexist / etc., that's a mundane problem!" So when these "mundane" #bigotries turn up in the subculture, as they *inevitably* do, they get swept under the rug.

Yeah, well, you can be, and very often you are. Face it. Deal with it. Be better than the people who made your life hell. Or at the very least, stop acting so hurt and surprised when you get called on your own brand of bullshit.