I appreciate the space you have created and the ease that I am able to express myself. I don't believe anyone can tell me how to be me, and I like the observations and fellowship that we have in this little world. I would be most disturbed if someone were to disrupt that.
Thank you, Fred. I will do everything in my power to ensure our community remains as safe and sane as possible. Clint is a bit of a Mama Bear. I protect my family…and will bite off the faces of anyone who zucks around.
You do not deserve to have your tranquility distressed, Mr. Collide. Whether in a reader response forum or in person, unpleasant people can be made to disappear from view. We do not harm any body, we merely make them disappear. Peace be with you.
Thanks for this post, Clint. I'm a firm believer that YOUR site(s) need to play by YOUR rules. Yours as listed just seems to be common sense to me. The block button is your friend!
I get it - in a way. We as a community are under attack in a way we haven't seen since '81-'82 & the beginnings of the epidemic (remember when the official medical name was "Gay Related Immune Deficiency?" I sure do). I think we're all tense & sort of "waiting for the other shoe to drop." In some senses the threat(s) are existential. As a senior, it's frightening -- long before you add in the LGBTQ+ factors. I don't think many of us are handling the stress very well.
HOWEVER, the calm, collected, supportive-of-each-other sites you are curating & creating are, to me anyway, just what is needed. This didn't happen overnight. We've seen it coming for a while & a lot of us have reacted defensively -- eager to jump into Attack Mode at every opportunity. And, off course, our infamous Social Media sites have rewarded that behavior. Attacks get clicks, which generates more "engagement" (read: a never-ending cycle of the latest outrage).
I certainly own my part in having my buttons pushed. I don't think humanity has really worked out how to healthily respond to the constant barrage of abuse ANYONE on Social Media is subjected to. Maybe there isn't a healthy way. I simply know that I don't have that much bandwidth. Not anymore. There really was a point in my lifetime when my friends & I sincerely believed we had "turned the corner" in a moral sense & that from then on only progress (albeit slow/or 2 steps forward, 1 back) was on the horizon. It's easy to become bitter when the real world intrudes.
I guess my point is that, in these times, it's a GOOD thing to have guidelines & boundaries for commentary. We desperately need the practice. The gut reaction is frequently not the most effective one. Your efforts to embrace safety & sanity will help me form the habit of Thinking before Responding (at least I hope it will). Meanwhile -- we got your back, dude!
Yeah, I'm extremely reactive so I really work to reign it in. My pet peeve is fact reframed as opinion. That engines designed for diesel will not run on gasoline is not my stance and my lens is not a factor. Lately I've been able to limit myself to 1. responding to statements implying we're sending plane loads of cash to Ukraine when in reality 3/4+ of the money never leaves the US. And 2. responding statements that can only be true if there's a time machine involved because Kyiv is 700 years older than Moscow.
I think a lot of this 'outrage' is an indirect result of Covid. It seems like for lot of us Covid has just used up our lifetime allotment of patience for dealing with people who have 'fact allergies', reality disconnections, etc.
We definitely live in Upside Down World now. Which is another reason I'm so glad I skipped--as usual--the "traditional" holiday with family. As you might've guessed, I too can be a bit...reactionary. Deep breaths. It's shaping up to be a long few years, so we gotta budget our fucks and outrage. :-)
Hi, Tom. Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I don’t pretend I’m not reactive af. But my aim is to find some “keep calm and carry” in the clusterfuck of media and tech that conspires to keep us fighting with each other. I slip up allllll the time. Just ask YouTube. Or some of my real-life nears-and-queers. Better yet, please don’t. They have enough to deal with…with me. lol
Let’s “Keep, Keep It Together,” as best we can. Madonna (and child) would want us to try. And it’s Sunday, so Madonna gets what she requests. The rest of the week? Results may vary. :-p
I appreciate the space you have created and the ease that I am able to express myself. I don't believe anyone can tell me how to be me, and I like the observations and fellowship that we have in this little world. I would be most disturbed if someone were to disrupt that.
Thank you, Fred. I will do everything in my power to ensure our community remains as safe and sane as possible. Clint is a bit of a Mama Bear. I protect my family…and will bite off the faces of anyone who zucks around.
Keyboard aggression = cowardice
Uh huh. Tiny dick syndrome. Nothing against small dicks. They’re great. Napoleons behind a keyboard? Zuck them.
You do not deserve to have your tranquility distressed, Mr. Collide. Whether in a reader response forum or in person, unpleasant people can be made to disappear from view. We do not harm any body, we merely make them disappear. Peace be with you.
Thanks, Sam. I try to remain calm and nice, but some folks make it hard. Oh well. The rest, people like yourself, make it worth the effort. Cheers!
Thanks for this post, Clint. I'm a firm believer that YOUR site(s) need to play by YOUR rules. Yours as listed just seems to be common sense to me. The block button is your friend!
I get it - in a way. We as a community are under attack in a way we haven't seen since '81-'82 & the beginnings of the epidemic (remember when the official medical name was "Gay Related Immune Deficiency?" I sure do). I think we're all tense & sort of "waiting for the other shoe to drop." In some senses the threat(s) are existential. As a senior, it's frightening -- long before you add in the LGBTQ+ factors. I don't think many of us are handling the stress very well.
HOWEVER, the calm, collected, supportive-of-each-other sites you are curating & creating are, to me anyway, just what is needed. This didn't happen overnight. We've seen it coming for a while & a lot of us have reacted defensively -- eager to jump into Attack Mode at every opportunity. And, off course, our infamous Social Media sites have rewarded that behavior. Attacks get clicks, which generates more "engagement" (read: a never-ending cycle of the latest outrage).
I certainly own my part in having my buttons pushed. I don't think humanity has really worked out how to healthily respond to the constant barrage of abuse ANYONE on Social Media is subjected to. Maybe there isn't a healthy way. I simply know that I don't have that much bandwidth. Not anymore. There really was a point in my lifetime when my friends & I sincerely believed we had "turned the corner" in a moral sense & that from then on only progress (albeit slow/or 2 steps forward, 1 back) was on the horizon. It's easy to become bitter when the real world intrudes.
I guess my point is that, in these times, it's a GOOD thing to have guidelines & boundaries for commentary. We desperately need the practice. The gut reaction is frequently not the most effective one. Your efforts to embrace safety & sanity will help me form the habit of Thinking before Responding (at least I hope it will). Meanwhile -- we got your back, dude!
Yeah, I'm extremely reactive so I really work to reign it in. My pet peeve is fact reframed as opinion. That engines designed for diesel will not run on gasoline is not my stance and my lens is not a factor. Lately I've been able to limit myself to 1. responding to statements implying we're sending plane loads of cash to Ukraine when in reality 3/4+ of the money never leaves the US. And 2. responding statements that can only be true if there's a time machine involved because Kyiv is 700 years older than Moscow.
I think a lot of this 'outrage' is an indirect result of Covid. It seems like for lot of us Covid has just used up our lifetime allotment of patience for dealing with people who have 'fact allergies', reality disconnections, etc.
Just some thoughts....
We definitely live in Upside Down World now. Which is another reason I'm so glad I skipped--as usual--the "traditional" holiday with family. As you might've guessed, I too can be a bit...reactionary. Deep breaths. It's shaping up to be a long few years, so we gotta budget our fucks and outrage. :-)
Hi, Tom. Thank you for the thoughtful reply. I don’t pretend I’m not reactive af. But my aim is to find some “keep calm and carry” in the clusterfuck of media and tech that conspires to keep us fighting with each other. I slip up allllll the time. Just ask YouTube. Or some of my real-life nears-and-queers. Better yet, please don’t. They have enough to deal with…with me. lol
Let’s “Keep, Keep It Together,” as best we can. Madonna (and child) would want us to try. And it’s Sunday, so Madonna gets what she requests. The rest of the week? Results may vary. :-p
How to be civil and deal with online trolls - a Master Class with Clint Collide 💙
Thanks, Mr. Troy Ford. I’m trying at least. While some of these folks are just trying my damn patience. :-p