@missy and @rambo came up with something super topical and a little controversial for this week's SG homework - "List the most recent sexist/racist/classist/homophobic (discrimination of any kind) thing that you have encountered."
Honestly I was pretty stoked to see this one because I see a LOT of discrimination and it's pretty upsetting. And unfortunately, Facebook seems to have become the hub for it. I honestly couldn't tell you how much discrimination I've come across on Facebook in the last week alone.
Just last night I was actually moved to remove a friend online due to their transphobic behaviour - They created a post claiming that 'real women have vaginas,' and when I commented to correct them and tell them that a real woman is anyone who identifies as a woman, I was shot down, told that transwomen AREN'T real women and called 'easily offended.' At that point I straight-up deleted the person in question - I know from experience that trying to inform the naivety of some people can be about as effective as talking to a brick wall.
And honestly I think that's what upsets me the most. It isn't naivety that 'offends' me or makes me upset at all - at a guess I'd say every single person reading this has been naive on some issue which doesn't involve them, whether it's transphobia, homophobia, classism, ableism or anything else. We've ALL had an opinion which has needed correcting at some point. And I see nothing wrong with that. We're people. We learn and grow and take on new knowledge every day in order to become less ignorant, more well-rounded, better people.
What really makes me pretty sad is this weird new culture of 'edginess' which has emerged on social media. This weird stubbornness where young people use the 'N' word liberally, refer to anyone non-passing as a 'tranny' and are anti-gay marriage for seemingly no reason other than internet cred, and to stir up some drama. People don't WANT to be informed and become better for it. Continuing their ignorance is apparently more beneficial than learning and growing.
While I'm incredibly privileged in that I am white, female and have always had a roof over my head, as a teenager I was the victim of hate crime as a queer person with a disability. And while it's something I don't talk about much, and something which doesn't need detail in this blog, it worries me that we will actually see an increase in hate crime as a result of high-profile people online proudly displaying their prejudiced views. It's all over Instagram, Facebook and Tumblr - it's become a strange badge of pride, the new 'weirdo.' People seem to ENJOY being prejudiced and ignorant in a world which is moving on and constantly becoming more accepting. It makes them 'different,' it creates drama and generates more comments and perpetuates their 'DGAF' attitude.
What people aren't taking on board is that their plea for drama and controversy comes at a potential cost to other people. A young transman, black woman or person with a disability sees the bigoted status update of a person with four thousand Facebook friends or a hundred thousand Instagram followers and feels ashamed that someone they considered a friend and/or looked up to considers them 'less than.' Impressionable, young privileged people see the same thing and use it as a back-up for their own prejudice-influenced behaviour. There's literally no good that can come of it besides the pathetic ego boost received by the poster.
Alright, rant over. I'm out. Be nice or go away, people.
