Earlier this evening I attended a webinar in addressing misinformation/disinformation (although the terms have different meanings, their use has become interchangeable). There were a few things that came out of it - including, as an aside, the need for someone to manage the chat and shut down the trolls.
Of more import for this post was the idea of calling people in - don’t shut the enemies of decency (my term) out in the cold, with nowhere to go: much as spiritualists believe it is important not to take a way someone’s beliefs without something to replace it (which I consider arguable if that belief is resulting in active harm), and former extremists/violent people have converted after events such as becoming a parent, the suggestion was that it is important for people to find a constructive community to be part of.
People who had a strong community membership of any type were found to be far more likely to vote yes in the recent referendum on the Voice - but memberships such as of Unions were noteworthy.
One presenter commented that they didn’t use cancel culture for that reason: again, as with the Spiritualists’ caution, I consider there may be exceptions to that - specifically, if it stops active harm being committed.
In terms of this blog, something I have written previously is that people do not go out of existence: you will have to interact with personalities in future lives - as I can attest, having been in a relationship with someone who was on a plane (a night bomber attacking cities) I shot down in my last life.
On my political blog, I have mentioned “taking people with you”.
In my activist days in the late 90s, we always tried to educate people to a better position, but that isn’t always possible in the current era - but it is with many people.
(There was also criticism of the Voice referendum Yes case on a few grounds, including not being funded [and funding the No campaign would also have involved credible funding for the Yes campaign], and not telling a story, rather than facts.)
I have quite a bit to contemplate on this.
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Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk.
