An ex-Louis Discord mod recently put out a statement about their demotion, and I have some thoughts. I’ve linked the post here for anyone who wants to read it themselves.
To my understanding, Emmett was (or still is) a Larrie. I don’t know the full extent of his involvement — I don’t know him personally — but it’s been mentioned more than once that he held Larrie beliefs. So basically, we had a Larrie mod in a Louis server, and frankly, that was always going to stir up discourse. This is a server where the word "Larry" is automodded, where even mentioning it is enough to get you attacked from every direction. I watched it happen in real time just last night — friends of mine were getting absolutely torn apart.
But there’s one part of Emmett’s post that I just can’t stop thinking about:
"I was removed from my volunteer mod role on the Louis Discord server after leadership told me the environment had become ‘unsafe’ for me. They said it was for my ‘protection.’"
That line sticks with me. Because if a Larrie moderator — someone who’s literally volunteering their time to support this space — has to be told that the community has become unsafe for them, then how is that not the clearest sign that we are not the fucking problem?
I don’t know every reason Emmett received hate, but from what I do know, a large part of it was simply people discovering he was a Larrie. And that pisses me off. Why is the environment only unsafe for us? Why are antis and solos allowed to speak freely, joke, speculate, antagonize — and still be protected — but we get labeled a certain way for just existing? You can technically be a Larrie in that server, sure. But if you say it out loud? You're a monster.
And this is someone who was a moderator. The fact that a mod — someone who’s supposed to help keep things fair and in order — was told he needed to be protected from the very people he was helping moderate for… that’s insane. I’ve seen people in that server refer to us as “those kinds of people” or even say there should be a “mass extinction” of us. And let me be really clear: that’s dehumanizing. We’re real people behind our usernames — regardless of what corner of the fandom we fall into.
Emmett also says in his statement that he wasn’t forced to hide his beliefs, that it was his own decision in order to remain unbiased while moderating. And honestly? As someone who’s modded in multiple fandom spaces myself, I believe this. At least in his case, it seems like he genuinely tried to separate his personal views from his role — and still, that wasn’t enough.
So maybe it’s time we ask the real question: if a Larrie can't even quietly exist in peace — let alone contribute and help keep the space safe — then who exactly is the problem here?
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