This is an admin post, intended for blahaj lemmy users. Top level posts from members of other instances will be removed.
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After recent events, it feels to me that sentiment has shifted and more people are asking for defederation of hexbear than previously.
I've been doing my best to try and mend bridges and keep us connected, as it's my hope that we can maintain trans solidarity and work with them, despite the friction, however, ultimately, I feel that this is an issue for the blahaj lemmy community to decide, not the admins alone.
So here's what we're going to do.
We're going to leave things as they are for a week. That will give time for things to calm down whilst we see if we can work together. After a week, I'll put up a vote and get a feel for where the community is at in regards to our continued federation with hexbear. That poll will run for a week. If there is a strong will to defederate (a clear majority), then that's what we will do.
I really really really dislike how fast so many people here are to discount their members and clamor for defederation. Queer solidarity, Trans solidarity, and Left solidarity is important. The people from hexbear aren't an "other" we're all in the same boat, it just happens that people from hexbear tend to be more jaded with the systems that a lot of us are slaves to in the west and in first world countries. Every single one of us is one little disillusionment away from holding the same or similar views as any person from hexbear, (I was already moving in that direction and have already made my own account there, though I started my lemmy usage here on Blahaj.)
Can they be a little overwhelming? Sure. But again, their users trend towards individuals fed up with the systems in place and are past the point of engaging in ways that look "respectable" or in their words, "liberal."
Edit: It's also kinda insane how they're being treated by certain mods even when they argue in good faith. image
I completely agree with your comment. I followed CTH back when it was on reddit, because it was a refreshingly queer space. Whilst I didn’t always agree completely with the politics, I wanted to learn more about the way they see the world.
They only just federated, after being isolated for three years. I think they’re still figuring out how to be part of a wider community again and they deserve patience while they do.
I hope Hexbear users realise this as well after everything that’s happened in the past few days. I want to be federated with them a lot. But I was really disappointed when I saw people from Hexbear attacking our admin. They just paid a huge amount of money out of their own pockets when traffic increased sharply, because they care about us users a lot. Then spent a bunch of labour hours migrating to new providers to keep things sustainable. I hope this is a wake up call that we’re their comrades too.
Solidarity is not a one-way street though. You cannot expect one group to always tolerate all behavior of another, without the other group acting in the same way. Both groups have to agree that the members of the other one deserve respect and should stand up for one another. If solidarity is demanded, but not returned, then it's just empty words.
In the same vein "Being fed up with the system" is no excuse for taking out one's anger on anybody who is also suffering under the same system. That's just abuse.
To bring it back to the current discussion: Members of Hexbear have to make an honest effort and demonstrate that they willing to treat members of Blahaj.Zone with the same kind of respect that they are expecting to be met with. Constantly dunking on people and being obnixious and rude isn't that.
I've tried pretty hard to just talk with people, but probably 80% of the time I am put in a position where nothing I say is right, including multiple users coopting therapeutic language around abusive relationships to personally accuse me of using such tactics (with no substantiation), along with endless "red fash" type remarks. None of that is your fault, but remember that some people on our side also get attacks we did nothing to deserve.
I don't think federation can work because one of your larger communities is obsessed with hating people like us, to the point of the mod just using private attempts at diplomacy for more drama fuel, but I still support it because I think it is worth it for all of us to see how it goes.
Some of us experienced the harassment personally and are not eager to allow those people free reign over our spaces.
Uh, no. What a strange general statement.
Happy for your comfortable existence, thanks for the input 💕
Ah yes, anyone who does not agree with you must never have suffered or experienced real life. Get back on your hex bear alt.
Don't threaten me with a good time
I don't agree on defederating on principle (I think it should be more a user level decision to mute communities/servers) but I also think identity politics like this is harmful; especially with how much disagreement on OTHER political issues we have with them, solidarity means you are okay with some of the more insane stances they have over other equally important human rights issues
Speak for yourself, queer spaces tend to run socialist, communist and anarchist
Removed by mod
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There is no left solidarity with red fascists. And there shouldn’t be any other kind of solidarity either.
This seems silly to me. The opinions held by Hexbear at large are very specific, and one little disillusionment doesn't suddenly make you a communist. Just because your views line up with Hexbear already and you feel like you are on the precipice of going "full leftist" doesn't mean everyone is. Hexbear isn't the Joker, there's no "one bad day" that will make you into a hexbear.
Happy?
I was half asleep when i wrote the original.
The views held by people on Hexbear are not "very specific" and you would understand that if you actually actively engaged with the ideas.
Maybe I phrased it badly too. I'm sorry for the way I engaged. I was just trying to say that they're specific as in not generic. There's specific theory there, and I thought you were saying that being disillusioned makes one see things that Hexbear folks do immediately, and I was trying to say that there's an intermediate step of theory and radicalization, but it seems we're on the same page on that and I spoke too quickly.