White GandalfNov 23, 2022
This is for white people: The point is not telling a target of #racism to block report and defederate so that they (and you) no longer need to see it and you can stay comfortable. The point is supporting them when they call it out and then YOU end it, or at least make it have consequences, by your own actions and within yourself. When racism is pointed out, don’t make it the observer’s fault. Go after the perp. It’s a white people problem.
Show threadwb x64

@whytgndlf I completely agree but this presumes that we know who the perp is (many call-out posts are vague) and glosses over the fact that we don't necessarily need to cultivate mass outrage in order to silence a bad actor, there is no Zuck or Jack to convince, there's the instance admins who are hopefully more proactive. (And if they're not, then that's a big problem.)

Nazis can make unlimited fedi accounts and feel no shame, mass outrage directed at them is their goal.

Nov 24, 2022 at 6:03amWeb
Show threadwb x64Nov 24, 2022

@whytgndlf when we want Nazis to fuck off, it's not because we think that shame and anger will change them, it's because we need to tangibly prevent them from harming more people. In person harassment works cuz you can get your body up in there. Online is just words. They need to be banished.

One thing we also don't need is mass rebroadcast of the receipts so the mob knows they're not being conned... cuz spreading the offensive message does the Nazis' work for them.

Show threadwb x64Nov 24, 2022
@whytgndlf we've been conditioned by the helplessness of being a user on corporate social media where there is no recourse besides begging a corporation's employees to do the right thing and causing a stink when they don't. But here we're our own bosses, we hopefully have good relationships with our admins on small instances who are responsive and anti-racist. And if they're not, that's a systemic problem much bigger than one racist and needs mass fediblock action.
Show threadwb x64Nov 24, 2022
@whytgndlf huger than any of this is the systemic problem of any idiot being able to start an instance and have newbies join with no idea about its reputation and policies, and that one day after any outrage dies down a newbie will have no way of knowing it happened. We need a reputation system so new generations know what "Gab" is and why it's bad, and why anyone who doesn't banish them is also bad. That's what works: isolate the cancer, remove it, and post a warning.
Show threadwb x64Nov 24, 2022
@whytgndlf "just block report and defederate" sounds paltry because corporate social media has failed us on that front so often. We need distributed tools like BlockTogether that really do isolate wrongdoers (fediblock is a good start), and yes when all these options have been exhausted we maybe do need to wage a campaign against the hosting companies that allow these servers to operate. But admins have to be responsive, if that doesn't happen this experiment is over.
Show threadWhite GandalfNov 25, 2022
@wilbr Thank you for your thoughts. To me, the perp is white supremacy. Everywhere you encounter it. Throughout your life. Challenging it here in Mastodon is great, but antiracist white people need to challenge it to other white people in real life too. You may not change somebody in that moment, but in aggregate the white people who know this and step up can make a difference. Black people pointing racism out here is a reminder of the work that needs to be done out there.
Show threadwb x64Nov 25, 2022
@whytgndlf oh absolutely. And there's degrees. I'm responding to the situation of overt harassment and bigotry, obviously if there's tone policing or disbelief or denial or educatable moments then you're absolutely right us whites calling each other in for a chat is good and necessary