X has taken its stance. Nazis on the platform are allowed. Pro-Hitler posts are allowed. Holocaust denial is allowed.
If you stay on a platform like that, you can't escape this creeping normalization. Even if you think you can.
"Oh, there goes another Holocaust denier. Just part of being online, I guess."
"Oh, another transphobe calling people dehumanizing slurs. Well that's the Internet for you."
Creeping normalization is like advertising. Even if you think it won't influence you, it will.
Brilliant post!
Staying on Twitter will influence you.
And we can't let it take root here. Been hearing more of, "that's just the way social media is." It's not. Social media is what we make it. Open social media can be respectful and kind. We can do this.
[Edit: changed the second sentence because it was overly harsh]
@mastodonmigration FYI, just today I heard from another Black person who talked about how this attitude is a big part of why they and their friends find Mastodon so hostile.
As I so often seem to say to you if that's your goal, great, carry on as you are. If that's *not* your goal, consider a different approach.
Jon, can you say more about what attitude this person was describing, and how either my post or the post you're replying to to manifests it?
@eloquence The attitude that white people on Mastodon can judge Black people remaining on Twitter -- in this case, "staying on Twitter will poison Black people's minds". Of course @mastodonmigration didn't specifically say it was Black people, he's talking about everybody on Twitter -- but that includes Black people.
And I've heard this from Black people who have left Twitter as well as ones who are still there. It's part of Mastodon's reputation for racism.
Indeed, this is not about any particular group staying on Twitter. It is about everyone. As Erik has so eloquently said, this is a platform that allows Nazis and transphobia to run rampant. The cumulative effect of wading through this garbage everyday is not healthy. When you single out one group (our last conversation was about journalist) the implication is insensitivity to that group particularly. That's not the case. Everyone should find an alternative to Twitter.
Erik Moeller
Mastodon Migration
Jon (now at neuromatch.social)