Chanda Prescod-WeinsteinNov 23, 2022

Just briefly logged into mastodon and my mentions are mostly people debating my experiences here and whether I was entitled to tweet about them, and I just want to say, I was called slurs for days by people on *other instances* and received a death threat saying that they would do to me what was done to Emmett Till.

Anyone discussing any of this like *I* did something wrong, including by talking about it, is a fucking dipshit.

Have a fabulous fucking day.

Show threadChanda Prescod-WeinsteinNov 23, 2022

I’m disgusted that protecting the reputation of the platform is more important to some people — including some Black people, what the actual fuck — than making sure people are safe, physically and emotionally.

That’s some nasty shit.

And to the “it’s just growing pains/join the right instance” crowd: Black people shouldn’t need a fucking Green Book to navigate the physical or virtual world.

Show threadChanda Prescod-WeinsteinNov 23, 2022
But I hope everyone’s happy, I’ve said it here! Yay 😵‍💫
Show threadChanda Prescod-WeinsteinNov 23, 2022
It’s easy for a bunch of people to sit around and theorize about growing pains when you’re not the one who has to wonder about what that noise is outside your house
Show threadThe Other EconomistNov 23, 2022
@chanda it is not growing pains. Vile people seem to migrate everywhere. It is difficult to police unless it is policed in the real world. A decentralized system is guaranteed to have unenforceable rules. There just has to be one domain willing to let them pass either because they agree with them or they are understaffed as this is run by volunteers. As a planet, we need a better thought out virtual world.
Show threadjhambyNov 23, 2022

@economics @chanda You said it better than I could.

Dr. Prescod-Weinstein, you're probably not going to have the experiences you're looking for here, because people on the general Internet are awful and the real world is a white supremacist world. Also, you're a famous public figure, compared to the average person, with a large following, and in multiple groups that the far-right hates. This place isn't going to provide the experience you're seeking, because it can't. It may never be able to.

Show threadjedmundNov 23, 2022
@chanda @jhamby @economics I don’t know if this is the point. Mastodon prides itself on being an inclusive, open-minded community but is collectively shrugging its shoulders at the plight of visible black people, which is a very tired and exclusive mentality.
Show threadRobo🇵🇷

@jedmund @chanda @jhamby @economics @BlackAzizAnansi

When I first got here I asked about moderation and the Nazis over at poa.st bombarded me with some pretty heinous shit. WILD stuff I thought was relegated to the dark web. After talking with some other people I realized 2 things: 1) use Fediblock and 2) I needed to migrate away from a server that didn’t feel they needed to block instances like poa.st.

Nov 23, 2022 at 4:01pmWeb
Show threadRobo🇵🇷Nov 23, 2022

@jedmund @chanda @jhamby @economics @BlackAzizAnansi My point is that “it’s the instance” is just true, it’s not dismissal or rationalization. While that DOES NOT take away the inherent anti-Blackness of white spaces, it is a very true technical aspect of this platform.

I only say this because whether it’s Twitter, Hive, Tumbler or whatever, ALL these spaces are going to be inherently antagonistic to marginalized people. But none give you as much power to curate that space like Mastodon does.

Show threadRobo🇵🇷Nov 23, 2022

@jedmund @chanda @jhamby @economics @BlackAzizAnansi it could be blacktwitter.io or democracy.social a combined effort of moderators who don’t play around, admins who use Fediblock, and our individual ability to block *entire instances* - BIPOC and other marginalized people have the power to shape their own world here.

I wish nothing but wellness for everyone struggling.