Alright so in general, this community handled this whole ordeal really well during the investigation. But now that it's closed, turning it into a "meme" is still really harmful for anyone who has been sexually abused or has gone through the process of reporting sexual abuse.

Just, keep in mind that the jokes you make may seem harmless to you, but for people who have experienced this kind of thing (on both sides), it makes the community feel less like a safe space.

Yesterday, a bunch of people on the Discord were ripping the original story to pieces in a way that almost seemed victim-blame-y. While yes, I tended to agree with a lot of what those people were saying, anyone reading the reaction would likely feel uncomfortable or unable to come forward in the community if they had experienced sexual abuse without being "ripped apart."

I didn't see that much here on ChaCha, but it's worth a reminder. So, just something to keep in mind while y'all are celebrating.

Edit: y'all this should not be considered a "hot take"

Edit2: alright this has been extraordinarily exhausting so I'm gonna just.. call it quits for a lil bit on this. toodles.

    • Iam [none/use name]
      ·
      4 years ago

      Another reason to move away from the branding of a mostly cis white podcast. That then created another mostly white userbase subreddit. We need to open this place up to more marginalized groups and make sure we create a space where they feel welcomed. We’re not doing a very good job at that.

      • emily [she/her,they/them]
        hexagon
        ·
        edit-2
        4 years ago

        literally every time I try to point out "hey, you may not realize it but this is a harmful thing to say for xyz group" I get like seven cis guys in my DMs saying "well actually...." like, you don't always have to be right. learning is good. being a "woke leftist" doesn't give anyone a free pass to say whatever they want, you know what I mean?

        edit: I'm agreeing w/ you btw. wasn't sure if that was clear

        • Iam [none/use name]
          ·
          edit-2
          4 years ago

          Yeah It’s clear. I was watching Hasan the other day and he said “there’s going to be some ableism. I’m going to be a bit ableist. Deal with it.” And I think that’s how most people see themselves. People get to a certain point on certain topics and they’re no longer going to self-crit because there’s not enough social pressure on those issues and because it doesn’t effect them directly and so the marginalized groups have to wait until there’s enough shame in the society or social group to stop. In the mean time they continue to hurt others.

          Calling it out like you did is how we put an end to it. More of us should be calling it out in the posts themselves as well.

          That person who said they know it’s hurting some survivors, but others are celebrating, so where’s the harm, really pissed me off. Fuck people like that

          • emily [she/her,they/them]
            hexagon
            ·
            4 years ago

            yeah that felt really fucked tbh. I don't know why people think that announcing they are going to say something fucked absolves them of all guilt, but it happens so much in leftist spaces. I mean, at least they're honest about it, but it doesn't change the effect it has. someone being ableist on the left and someone being ableist on the right has the same effect on ND people, for example. no one is "better" for being self-aware about it.

        • aaaaaaadjsf [he/him, comrade/them]
          ·
          4 years ago

          Please report the DM spam to the admins and moderators if you feel harassed or uncomfortable, they take that stuff very seriously in my personal experience.

        • Iam [none/use name]
          ·
          4 years ago

          It doesn’t matter the point you bring up. They’re stuck to chapo because of its legacy to them personally.

      • SerLava [he/him]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Another reason to move away from the branding of a

        :agony-deep:

      • aaaaaaadjsf [he/him, comrade/them]
        ·
        4 years ago

        Stop trying to distance yourself from your whiteness to score leftist points, especially if it’s in order for you to disregard others struggles

        Seriously this site is like 90% white and it's super cringe everytime someone does the above.

          • aaaaaaadjsf [he/him, comrade/them]
            ·
            4 years ago

            There was the perfect post/meme about this on the southafricanleft subreddit but sadly it's been deleted. It said something like "all the white kids posting fuck white people jokes are just trying to absolve themselves of their guilt instead of doing actual introspection and solidarity"

              • emily [she/her,they/them]
                hexagon
                ·
                edit-2
                4 years ago

                I completely agree with you. the whole "I've experienced oppression or discrimination in xyz capacity so I'm not fully white" completely erases the reality of intersectional identities.

              • JuneFall [none/use name]
                ·
                4 years ago

                It’s more when people act like being Polish or Irish makes them not fully white or something.

                It is a bit complicated though. Whiteness isn't binary. While white polish people are privileged within that power structure it isn't that they are having the same stand as e.g. white assigned German people. The antislav mindesets and more structures which are powerful within the German border esp. vs polish migratory workers and also people who live in Germany for generations are relevant for them. The synthesis of intersectionality is to be aware how inclusion and exclusion isn't based on truth, but on power and that historically who got counted as white by the imperial core was only expanded in a move to retain power. E.g. after WW2 creating a new fiction of a "white" Europe.

                This means that there can be plenty of privileged "enjoyed" by people who are now assigned as white and privileges perpetuated by structures, while on the same time - unless politically expedient - people and structures can scream how "they" are to be deported, how "they" are criminals and that "they" ought to be attacked (in case of polish people in Brandenburg this does happen commonly by Nazis). Naturally very common are attacks by Nazis on PoCs, too.

          • Elyssius [he/him]
            ·
            4 years ago

            I fail to see how it's their fault for being white or from a white country - when they call people anglos or crackers they are showing a very obvious distaste for the actions of their country (plus it's more about the mindset, rather than the skin color, I've seen plenty of non-white people being called anglos or crackers well after they do the dramatic reveal of their race that many non-white reactionaries love)

    • aaaaaaadjsf [he/him, comrade/them]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I mean yeah the past incidents regarding transphobia and pronouns kind of revealed this. Though most people here seem willing to take criticism and educate themselves, which is good.