@Sunspot To think that because we have a gun problem we shouldn't care about a lack of access to educational materials.

The two are related. One of the themes being censored is material about violence and guns. I doubt Florida and Texas are censoring pro-gun materials.

The first time I contacted my elected officials was when I was 12 years old. I'd just read Hiroshima by John Hersey. The 1980s were a tense time for international politics and scary for kids and that was the big issue of my tween/early teen years. It wasn't a banned book and I had access to material on any topic including sexuality. (Those could be read clandestinely in the stacks if you didn't want to check them out. There was no shame in walking up to the circulation desk with your books on nuclear war.) If I were a teen or tween today, I wonder if I'd have access to all the things I wanted to read. I'll have to find out if there are any issues where I live. I don't have kids in the schools here but I care anyway.

@Sunspot @MariaHill

Apparently I've been very lucky in my tiny corner of the fediverse. I've literally only seen one Nazi (except at @auschwitzmuseum) and only a relative handful of mansplainers, reply guys and general purpose shitbags. I didn't even have to block them because they were only in one thread in my timeline. Perhaps it's another perk of being an old white guy. If so, that really does suck.

@Sunspot @MariaHill
Yep, outright shitbags can just be blocked immediately. You end up wasting time with ones that seem sincere.

It really is easier for me (has been all my life - I realized that in the 90s when I was being promoted and the women and non-whites weren't even considered) - as a tail end boomer people expect me to be racist, sexist, homophobic and obnoxious. Imagine their surprise when I'm (usually) only obnoxious to racists, sexists and homophobes😂

@Sunspot @MariaHill @michaelboys That’s the kind of thing I’ve spent the most time moderating against lately. It’s essentially gaslighting. Lots of accounts roll up and say we’re overblowing racism, homophobia, transphobia, voter suppression, GOP fascism, you name it. Then when you push back, they try and claim they’re “just asking” or that they didn’t say what they said.

It’s exhausting which it’s probably meant to be.

This is a pro-obscenity instance but I respect the guidelines of other communities.