I learned how to block people on LinkedIn today - late to the line on that item, and not for any particular personal need, but, as:
(a) the Voice has confirmed what many people have always known, which is that some people are irredeemable bigots (or “hard no's”, in the terminology of that referendum) - and hence Martin Luther King’s saying “It may be true that the law cannot change the heart, but it can restrain the heartless”;
(b) transphobia is getting organised into (another) transgenocide;
(c) while it is vital to shut down genocidaires before they get far in their acts of hate, self-care is also important - although the use of colour and chakras is helping me cope;
I chose to act using the precautionary principle, and keep those haters out of my life - which is a strategy advocated for on other, credible, decent social media.
The thing that strikes me about these bigots is how rigid their (gender critical) “thinking” is - how fixated on a limited (gender essentialist) choice of physical characteristics, and what that says about their character flaws (see here).
It isn’t going to be possible to change their characters before they harm a lot of people - including driving people to death by suicide through their hate, which they refuse to acknowledge.
In fact, the person I blocked was asking for an explanation using “calm and clear” words as to how “free speech” can cause harm ... I was tempted to ask “ever hear of hate speech?”,but lack the time, energy and health to engage with the closed minded.
There can be a benefit in doing so, in that it shows support to others, but there is little point in doing so for the “hard bigots”.
Here are a few other links that might be of interest - and note that those who are bigots in one area are frequently bigots in other areas as well:
- (aspects of) character [Content Warning - includes disturbing/harmful matters];
- Why won’t/don’t people change?
Some people, I think, are afraid they might have to grieve at the loss of outdated and wrong ideas - ideas that they are emotionally addicted to. This has to be addressed at an emotional level, ultimately - addressing the head (thinking) initially is just the doorway to the heart. - Post No. 2,584 - Vindictiveness and other miscellaneous thoughts [Content Warning: discussion of/links to articles on jealousy, vindictiveness, narcissism];
- Post No. 2,592 - wrong/uninformed assumptions, bigotry, and (other peoples') regrets;
- Post No. 2,579 - Compassion ... and gender [Content Warning: mention of violence, sexism, sexual assault, CSA];
- Post No. 2,589 - An article from the Australian Independent Media Network on Indigenous identity;
- An activism email on the use of abusive ABA practices;
- Good and TERRIBLE (unacceptable [Content Warning] threats of violence) responses to a bad comment about colonisation;
- An excellent response to a particularly clueless remark by an arrogant overentitled patriarchal rich person;
- White supremacists reach new lows;
- Some good LGBTQIASB+ news reports - some very surprising (the person I blocked had made some gender essentialist rubbish in response to this decision);
- A follow up to “The savagery of white supremacism in Australia”: Effects [Content Warning - racism, white supremacism].
If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below, and there’s also Instagram and Mastodon.
Vote Yes for the Voice in Australia - see this backgrounder.
Finally, remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, and to mind our Mӕgan.
