There have been some things showing up on my dash lately that have been bugging me. It's made me start thinking about Tumblr and how we function, as a group of people, on here.
However, those two parts of Tumblr overlap like crazy and it... well, honestly, it's pisses me right off. I see so many people on this site post about supporting another person, trying to make a complete stranger that they don't even follow feel better, try to have others notice that someone needs financial help, show off news of people harassing and bullying others... and then right afterwards bring up and mock other people.
Most of the people that they mock/bully/whatever are generally people who act pretty awful to begin with, my dash usually is compromised of factives, otherkin, or social justice bloggers. And it makes NO SENSE AT ALL to me how you can go from supporting someone you don't even know to mocking someone you don't even know.
Just because someone acts like a shithead, just because you don't like someone, just because you know they're being awful and prejudice, does NOT give you the right to be a total asshole to them/make rude posts about them.
Why would ANYONE post something about how awful it is to bully someone by flooding their inbox with messages saying that they should kill themselves and then, maybe a day or so later, go on about how awful they think DumbShitWhitePeopleSay is and how you wish they could be wiped from the earth's surface????
How can you even do that without thinking, wow, I sure not acting exactly like what I'm against or anything.
Like, wow that video of that person flushing that piece of paper down the toilet with DSWPS' name on it... like, why? Why would you do that? It's not even a threat but like wow, stop being a dick okay? Just because you think someone's shitty/is shitty doesn't mean you should be a dick!
I mean, and I've seen one person mock and yell about (and soon at, though albeit not through more than about two posts) a person who believed that one of their classmates was their slave in their past life. And I mean, wow, what a shitty attitude and that's creepy and kinda scary. I don't think they handled it right at all but I didn't really feel that bad because they didn't push it too far. BUT, then they judge another person for doing the same thing (probably in more posts than the other person) and use it as a confirmation that said person is bad. And... I just...
You JUST DID, not even a couple of days before, do something VERY SIMILAR to that.
And it's like, this is something that extends outside of Tumblr. The internet is just like this (even outside of the internet too actually) where your actions are good and others actions that are close to yours are bad. Like, STOP
Tumblr has an issue with thinking that you're helping someone realize that they're acting shitty by making posts screaming about what they've done, even though they probably won't even see it. Tumblr has this thing about spreading around hate for someone who is acting shitty without even attempting to talk to said person and explain why their actions/words are harmful.
And, IF someone actually speaks them them about it in a nonagressive way and honestly try to explain, if said person doesn't change, Tumblr has this idea that:
bugging this person (pretty much everyone who has pissed off a majority of Tumblr)
outing their contact information for harassment purposes (uh, that person who made that video of them flushing a piece of paper with Riley's name on it... even though they have their contact info out willingly but I'm sure there are more examples of people having their info outed despite trying to keep it private)
and assaulting them (a tumblr user who people mistakenly thought they hated Homestuck and thus had grey paint thrown upon them, irritating their cancer-ridden skin) (Oh, and they were being harassed via their phone) (and were getting death threats)
Just because you don't like someone doesn't give you a single ounce of right to be an asshole towards them. It doesn't suddenly make talking behind their back okay. It doesn't make threatening them okay. It doesn't make jokes at their expense okay. And it certainly does not fucking make it okay to threaten/do harm upon them.
So please stop acting like it is okay.
Like, if you see someone doing something shitty like promoting racial equality but being prejudice against a race, or someone claiming to be an animal and using terms that hurt trans* peoples, or someone who thinks that they have a killer as a head mate; please take a moment to talk to them as opposed to make a post screaming about how awful of a person they are. People might do awful things without actually knowing that it's awful. These same people might see everyone screaming at them about how awful they are, without a single person trying to reason with them, and refuse to change because of that.
And, if that person still thinks that they are right without giving a solid reason to change your mind on said issue, leave them alone. Fighting back with aggression is only going to spur more aggression. Make a post explaining to your followers why you think such a thing is bad. Don't out anyone. Don't fuel drama. Just educate others on why such a thing can be harmful. Be open to people who have a counter to what you're saying. Their opinions might differ from yours and your experiences are different than theirs. Maybe you'll change your mind.
If these harmful actions/words are severe, try reporting them to Tumblr staff. Or any of the staff for the website you see it on. (Do it even if they think others have tried.) Sometimes the things that are shitty should just be taken down, as opposed to fought against.
