Mostly Void.

with that said, I think it is necessary to understand policing of online public space as a dimension of the policing of public space more broadly. there is no ''just go outside'' solution to these issues, because ''outside'' is policed as well.

for example, the way that sex workers have been ruthlessly and structurally targeted for social death online is completely in line with how they are treated offline as well. these things work in conjunction. if you make sure someone cannot find and vet clients online, they must do so offline. if you make sure they cannot meet clients indoors, they have to meet them on the street. if they have to meet them on the street, police have more access to these workers (to harass, assault, sexually violate, abduct, and kill them). the whole system works together. every prediction I heard from sex workers in 2016 is the reality today.

so when transfeminized people are talking about being relentlessly harassed off of every social media platform, that is not just an "online" issue. it is happening alongside their being driven out of all public space, online or offline (e.g. with bathroom policing, denial from employment, housing, and shelters, etc.)

when people from the global south are being labeled as "scammers" or "foreign bots" and getting their accounts banned repeatedly, it is part of the exact same ideological justification for border policing, detention, and deportations--it is the constant reinforcement of the idea that these people are "criminal" and here to "take what's yours" and "might appear to be someone struggling but they're not really human."

when images of people with racialized features, fat bodies, facial and skin differences, visible disabilities, intersex and transsexual sexed traits, etc., are repeatedly hidden by algorithms, marked "mature," and censored, this indicates a resurgence of "ugly laws" as part of the broader ascendant eugenics movement. this cannot be divorced from the stigmatization, defunding, dismantling, and criminalization of healthcare for "undesirable" populations.

it took me asking three more times before she finally told me she wanted me to leave the fans where they are instead of moving them to my room or something. and I said oh! I had no intention of doing so but thank you for letting me know what the expectation is.

"You left your dish in the sink." > the hidden request is "please clean your dish, preferably right now." since it's phrased as an observation, I don't immediately intuit the request and instead think my housemate thinks I forgot about it. so I reply "oh, I know." housemate thinks i'm sassing her and gets annoyed with me. only then do I realize she was asking me to do something about the dish in the sink.

"There's hot soup on the stove." > said to me while I was preparing a sandwich. the hidden request is "please eat the soup." since it's phrased as a statement of fact, I don't immediately intuit the request and instead think my mom thinks I didn't see the soup. I did see it, but I wanted a sandwich instead. so I reply, "I saw it, thank you." mother thinks I'm being rude and gets annoyed with me. only then do I realize she was asking me to do something about the soup (and furthermore is offended I am eating a sandwich instead).

"Your bread is on the counter." > the hidden request is "please remove your sliced bread from the counter and store it elsewhere." since it's phrased as an observation, I don't immediately intuit the request and think my roommate thinks I meant to store the bread elsewhere and forgot. when I reassure her I know it's there, she gets annoyed. only then do I realize she wants me to do something about the bread on the counter.

"You can turn up the heat, you know." > said to me while I was scrambling eggs slowly over low heat. this one really confused me because of course I knew I could turn up the heat, but I had no reason to as I was only cooking for myself. when I ignored the statement because I was focused on my task and had nothing to say, my mother added, "the eggs will cook faster if you do." sure, I'm aware of this too, but I don't want to cook them faster. I won't get the texture I want. when I reply, "I don't want to, though," mom thinks I'm being rude and gets irritated, then asks me how long I'm going to take. only then do I realize she was telling me to cook faster (because she wanted the stove), instead of simply informing me I could.

"There are donuts in the break room." > a more benign example, but similar outcome. once again I hear this as a piece of information being given to me, and thank my coworker for telling me. when I don't immediately leave my desk to get donuts because I'm finishing a task, my coworker hovers and says, "well? aren't you getting some?" only then do I realize there was actually a hidden invitation, and I was supposed to respond to the hidden part and say, "I'll come get them in a minute," or "no thank you I don't want any."

as I said, I've learned over time this is something many allistic (non-autistic) people do (as well as high masking autistic folks who have learned the social rules and wear themselves out following them rigidly). despite what I've learned, my default autistic response is pretty much always to take the words at face value (especially when I'm distracted or multitasking), before remembering I have to translate them. and while I can make a decent educated guess in most cases, sometimes I just cannot and simply ask, "what are you asking me?"

unfortunately, many allistic people suffer from an inability to take words literally just as much as they struggle to speak literally, which can further obfuscate communication. this is why I emphasize gentle reassurance that you are not criticizing them, but asking them to help you, a person in need, by clarifying their intent. people generally like to be helpful and I have had moderate success with this approach.

You are literally allowed to walk out of a doctor's office and never come back. You're allowed to self advocate and say "I don't know why you think that's acceptable to say to a patient". You can say "I'm not going to take this"

Which I know is probably obvious and also, extremely difficult to do on the spot. And if you paid a copay, it's even harder because it feels like a waste of money. I think if you're paying to be treated like shit that's not getting your money's worth.

I'm talking about like, genuine disrespect, neglect, malpractice, or true discomfort. Including but not limited to:

Inappropriate comments or demeanor. Ofc there's the obvious crazy "holy shit a doctor just said that?" Comments but I also mean "Well MAYBE if you lost weight you wouldn't have to be on heart medication 😒" "Kinda funny how everyone claims to have POTS lately..."

Poor bedside manner. "I doubt you're in that much pain all the time" "Sometimes in life you need to suck it up. It's not a scary procedure" "It's just a shot, you're not 4 calm down"

Treating you like an addict for needing/requesting a controlled substance. Not like "hey I'm concerned, do you need addiction resources or are you good?" But interrogating you or denying you something that would improve your quality of life on the basis that they are suspicious of your intentions. Some doctors just don't feel comfortable prescribing some things in general and that's one thing, your gp probably won't give you anxiety meds but if they give you an attitude and act like you're trying to fool them, they're an asshole.

Assuming you're lying about your symptoms/conditions. Not as in, you didn't meet the criteria and didn't get diagnosed (you're allowed to get a second opinion) but "Yeah lately everyone seems to think they have chronic fatigue syndrome" "if you truly had (condition) you'd be doubled over in pain right now" "Do you know how rare that actually is? I've met like, 3 patients with it"

Being way out of their lane. Your rheumatologist should not be saying "Is there an actual reason you're depressed? It doesn't look like you've tried every option"

That "I'm the one with the degree so stop talking and listen" attitude. Iykyk.

Not following protocol or respecting your comfort or needs.

Being clearly ignorant when it comes to the issue you're there for. Things like a therapist that tells you dissociative disorders aren't real, that personality disorders are a reflection of your character, or "yeah I can tell by how you're talking to me right now, you're clearly not autistic"