MirceaKitsune
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Blocking people on art sites for social / political opinions expressed on Twitter
🕑 Added 2018-04-16 15:19:30 +0000 UTC Time to speak my mind on another thing which is apparently, in fact, a thing. The cycle of learning new things every day never appears to end on this amazing world.So it seems a new meme has emerged within this fandom: Blocking people from watching you on art sites (especially Furaffinity) if you don't like the social and political opinions they express on social media (namely Twitter). It's one of those things you don't even have a reason to imagine until you actually see it happen, and the sad part is it can even include people you would least expect it from: Every once in a while when I try to fave art, FA randomly informs me that people I've been watching for years have blocked me... without me ever speaking a word to them, nor they ever contacting me.
In none of those cases do I even have any idea what the reason is to begin with: I'm left asking myself "what the heck is this person's problem, how did I offend them"? I suspect it has to do with Twitter as it seems to have started happening after I've become more active there... which includes commenting on political stuff daily, whereas recently I've been involved in trying to break up witch hunts against several figures in the fandom. This sort of behavior is disgraceful in my opinion, and I condone it for a variety of reasons:
- First it's transmitting the idea that you see yourself as superior for whatever difference of opinion you have, and that this difference is what everything revolves around to you. Basically you're saying "this person thinks something I don't agree with, how dare they exist anywhere near me at all... I'm gonna go all around the internet and block them from engaging in any of the unrelated things I do, just to show how important I am because I have this different opinion". It's true that I occasionally bring up personal grievances and political stuff here... however this is still an art site, why do we need to be at each other's throats here over life opinions exactly? Is it impossible to share ideas on various projects, comment on each other's art, or do anything else... all without having to bring up and dwell on a point someone expressed over on Twitter? It's not like I ever follow people around and rub my beliefs in their faces, I only make posts or journals about them and if you don't like those you can simply not read them... what is the deal then?
- It's making it clear that you're unable to tolerate opposite ideas under any form, by reacting radically to anything that doesn't fall in alignment with your view of the world. With some things I may be able to understand that, such as people who think being transgender is a mental illness which is hard not to get angry over... to go all out against someone however, they must have actually done something horrible! Other than defending people who I believe to be wrongfully judged and having strong views against what's happening in the world today, I have never harmed anyone nor supported any harm but quite oppositely want freedom for everyone to live their lives in peace, which is the exact opposite of bigotry. Yes I have my fair anger at the world and say some dark things in the process, but I think most people can see past that.
- This counts both as cowardice and complete lack of respect toward the other person. I for one was thought that if you have a problem with someone you know, you go through the minimal effort of explaining to them what your problem is, and why not asking them to clarify what they actually think and why they think it? To turn against someone overnight (the longer you knew them for the worse) the moment you discover they like something you dislike is pretty much saying "whatever, I never valued you at all anyway". Grow some balls and at least talk to them... other people have to face actual difficult situations for actually good reasons! People who do this might wanna let all their friends know just know how little they generally care about them in comparison to their precious opinions over random bullshit.
Overall my view of the furry fandom has changed a lot after this experience. The whole thing about furries being accepting people is just another lie... as is every good thing presented to you in this world: This fandom is as (in)tolerant as all of mainstream society, which sums up to "you are very welcome and we all love you... till we're offended by something then you can burn in hell". It's just the surprise that's a little bitter, as I convinced myself I've seen everything by now and couldn't possibly be disappointed by anything new. The rest I'm more than used to: My entire life I've been surrounded by people who judged me for who I am, I've lived fighting against their hatred for over 20 years now... at this point I'm dead inside from it, every day I feel like a soldier on the battlefield surrounded by troops and mines and guns... I know every friend may be fake, just another enemy in disguise ready to strike the moment they discover you're not one of them. The funny thing is I still haven't given up, and never will for as long as I exist... keep that part well in mind, all of you who hate others for refusing to conform to the strict views and way of life you try to brainwash them into!
In ending, let this be a word of warning to everyone else: If you agree or disagree with the wrong person or idea on social media, expect to find yourself randomly blocked by friends on art sites. Blocking is no longer a system to defend yourself from people harassing you, but a tool in imposing social conformity. It's sad what both the online and offline world have become, but this is what it is today.
