#like to be fair this is an extremely benign example that i'm looking at | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

sasquapossum · 1 year

Note

Hey, can I ask how you interpreted that image as hate speech? I'm asking genuinely -- you can still unfollow me and take your time answering or just say no because i'm not entitled your time or anything, but I would like to understand and would appreciate your time on it.

I reblogged it under the impression that a) it was pointing out the insufferability of those who wanna say they're a centrist when they aren't (often just embarassed to say they're conservative for some reason) but regardless it's b) less about what they actually think just that pure arrogance of whatever their thoughts are it is the Correct and Only Way to Be TM and c) that this specific variation of fair-weather unironically deals with not having addressed inherent instincts of confirmation bias by declaring they're more willing to criticize one side and criticize only, looking for holes purposefully in the most minute of things in defense of what they lean towards but still claiming centrism. By doing so without caring that they do that, it ends up with someone unprincipled and hypocritical even by what they usually tout is their own standard of thinking things through (the basis of them being Right TM. Happens in other groups because it's about /needing/ to be better/righter than the person they're talking to more than anything else).

I often come across this type of person where I live and so i didn't think it was a caricature so much as a commiseration about a very specific genre of person that's hard to be around. How does that translate to hate speech?

OK, let me start by saying that I might have over-reacted. I stand by the general sentiment I expressed, but your reblog (which was indeed the trigger) might not have been the best example. Perhaps it will explain why I might have over-reacted.

Fake moderates absolutely do exist. I've been dealing with them for over 40 years, both in media and in forums where I participate, and I've been extremely tired of them for over 30. Some conservatives like to hide their true beliefs, I think in hope of getting a hearing they'd otherwise be denied because they know their beliefs are noxious. It's dishonest, it's cowardly, and I have more reason than most to despise them. Nonetheless...

People who genuinely hate real moderates and centrists and people (like me) who don't fit any neat left/right distinction also exist. I have plenty of burn scars and bullet holes on my virtual back to prove that. Such people seem particularly common right here. They can't even say "moderate" without a sneer or a snarl, and one important aspect of their behavior is that they make no distinction between real and fake moderates. Anyone who does not share their very specific flavor of ultra-leftist belief is The Enemy.

That brings us to the image you reblogged, which I would compare to people putting a confederate or blue-line flag on their car. There really people who use those symbols with benign intent. I've met a few. But they should know that others find those symbols hurtful. They should know that the vast majority of people who use those symbols mean for them to be hurtful, and they should avoid those symbols for that reason. Hate speech occurs not only when there's malicious intent, but also when there's a failure of diligence when repeating the haters' tropes and stereotypes.

So when I see "I'm not left or right" - a phrase that many people use with all sincerity - identified as a code phrase for crypto-rightists, I see repetition of a hateful message. When I see "I have no real beliefs" I see repetition of a hateful message. Many people do use those tropes with conscious malice, and have used them against me personally. There might not have been any bad intent on OP's or your part, but you still can't poke at a wound like that and not expect a reaction. Each of us must eventually accept that it's not our place to say whether someone else is hurt or offended. If they are, they are. I see ads for a shirt sometimes that says "be careful who you hate because it might be someone you love" and it applies here just as much as anywhere else.

FWIW, I do not bear you any will. I've already said I need to prune my follow list because I can't keep up. The people I follow are posting so much great content that even one post that makes me feel bad is enough to make my itchy unfollow finger twitch. I might well follow you again if some day I have the "mental space" to be adding people again, and something of yours comes across my dash in the normal course of events.

As I said, I might have over-reacted, and for that I apologize. I hope that this explanation helps you understand why I or others might do so, and why it's not necessarily personal. Peace.

1 note · View note