I’ve told this story on Lemmy a couple of times since being banned from Blahaj Zone, and I’ll tell it again.

I once posted a meme to a Blahaj community I moderated in which someone named Obvious_Troll@hexbear.net was attacking a trans person. It was a political meme, and I’ll try to avoid saying what the political viewpoint was so that this thread doesn’t get derailed. But as part of the meme, Obvious_Troll was being transphobic, and the reader was expected to agree that transphobia is bad and Obvious_Troll is… an obvious troll. The username wasn’t actually important to the meme, I was just including a picture of a Lemmy comment and had to include a name, so I made one up.

Ada then messaged me to say that the post would be removed unless I redacted Obvious_Troll’s name. Ada said that Obvious_Troll is a real, trans lemmy user, and I’m not to attack them. There is nobody on hexbear named Obvious_Troll, I made that username up.

Read bottom to top:

So Ada defended a fictional transphobic troll, deciding they were trans for some reason. The troll’s username was not the point of the meme, the point was what they were saying. So I made up a nonsense username to support the point of the meme. I don’t think anyone would choose the username Obvious_Troll unless they wanted to be seen as a troll. As near as I can tell, Ada defended Obvious_Troll because they were from Hexbear, and Ada seems to think every Hexbear user is trans. Even a made-up one who wants to be seen as a troll and who harasses trans people. Why did Ada hyperfocus on the instance name, and not notice that the username was ridiculous? I don’t know. I don’t understand it.

Blahaj is intended to be a safe space for trans people. And Ada’s intention with asking for redaction of this fake made up name was, somehow, to protect a trans person. And that’s good. But it’s really weird that Ada thought the way to protect trans people, is by defending fictional transphobic trolls.

EDIT: So, the discussion got derailed not by politics as I expected, but by Ada claiming Obvious_Troll is a real person again. Here’s the original post in which Obvious_Troll is being transphobic and the reader is supposed to agree that transphobia is bad:

  • Scary le Poo@beehaw.org
    73·
    2 months ago

    To be fair, blahaj zone is a bit of a mess. Let’s not forget people trying to navigate the insane user insisting that their pronouns were goddess and going mental over claiming that people who didn’t capitalize properly were misgendering them.

    At some point, you have to set limits as to what you will tolerate. I understand that an all inclusive instance would be reluctant to do so. However, you’ll end up with MAGAts doing shit like this for fun, just to see an entire instance bend over backwards to try to accommodate, and you will get genuinely insane people doing the same thinking that they are doing nothing out of the ordinary.

    Interestingly enough, while I am not part of the lgbtq+tia community, I am a staunch ally and even I feel as though bz is a place I want to steer far away from.

    Moderating that instance must be fucking exhausting.

    • MindTraveller@lemmy.caOPEnglish
      41·
      2 months ago

      Quit making fake nonsense up. That story didn’t happen. And recognising that a fictional character is fictional is not a question of tolerance, it’s a question of basic functional ability required to live in the world.

        • MindTraveller@lemmy.caOPEnglish
          2·
          2 months ago

          It’s not someone insisting that their pronouns are goddess. It’s someone insisting that Their pronouns are capitalised. If transphobes are going to attack random people for existing, they should at least put in the bare minimum effort to be factually correct. Otherwise they deserve to be laughed at and called stupid liars.

          • Scary le Poo@beehaw.org
            53·
            2 months ago

            So I’m a transphobe for relaying an incident that actually happened now?

            Or am I a transphobe for suggesting that guardrails are a good idea? I’m not suggesting gatekeeping pronouns or gender, but I would put forth that claiming one’s gender as “goddess” and that their pronouns must be capitalized and if you don’t you’re misgendering them has about as much validity as some maga asshole saying that they identify as an attack helicopter.

            Of course inclusiveness is important, but it is also important to have a firm foot on reality and recognize ridiculousness for what it is, and possibly more importantly, call it out.

            Unfortunately, in the trans community, it has veered towards an “all things are valid” approach, however while that is great sentiment to have, it breaks down the moment someone abuses it in bad faith, whether it be a maga asshole, or someone claiming that they are a goddess (and should be recognized as such) and that their preferred pronouns MUST be capitalized or it’s you misgendering them.

              • Scary le Poo@beehaw.org
                32·
                2 months ago

                I didn’t lie. The person gendered themselves as “goddess” and went nuts over people not capitalizing their pronouns.

                Others have replied to your comments with links and receipts.

                So, turns out, you’re the one who is lying.

                You say that I’m committing acts of violence out of hatred for people different from me. Nothing that I have said could be credibly construed as such.

                You use the term “transphobe” in whatever way suits you as a bludgeon in order to try to “win” online discussions. That is scummy behavior. It’s also pathetic. I pity you, that you have to debase yourself this much in an effort to make yourself seem credible. All the while showing your true colors; That you are weak, selfish, and willing to use another person’s pain if it benefits you in some way.

                Please, spend some time reflecting and stop putting so much value on “winning” an online discussion. There are no prizes here. When you make an argument in bad faith it shows everyone watching/reading that your position is flawed and that what you have to say as a whole can be largely ignored. This is undesirable because you may have many great things to say, but once your credibility is destroyed, it is very difficult to gain it back.

                • MindTraveller@lemmy.caOPEnglish
                  31·
                  2 months ago

                  You said “the insane user insisting that their pronouns were goddess”. That’s not true. Their pronouns are They/Them, not goddess. You called a trans person insane because you didn’t like Their pronouns, which you spread lies about. Nobody would have a problem with you if you just told the truth and followed the community’s rules with regards to civility. That means gendering trans people correctly. You may have a huge enough ego that you think you get to be the arbiter and gatekeeper of which trans people deserve to be shown basic respect, but your ego is wrong. You need to stop thinking of yourself as more important than everyone around you and stop committing acts of violence against people for being different.

                • Blaze (he/him)@feddit.orgEnglish
                  1·
                  2 months ago

                  Hello,

                  If you look at this whole thread you shouldn’t be surprised.

                  Thank you for your comments, see you around

    • Blaze (he/him)@feddit.orgEnglish
      1·
      2 months ago

      To be fair, blahaj zone is a bit of a mess. Let’s not forget people trying to navigate the insane user insisting that their pronouns were goddess and going mental over claiming that people who didn’t capitalize properly were misgendering them.

      That was something indeed

    • Grail (capitalised)@aussie.zoneEnglish
      11·
      2 months ago

      One of the users on My discord server says someone is lying about Me. I assure you, My pronouns are not goddess. I do not appreciate being lied about, I do not appreciate being misgendered, I do not appreciate being called insane, and I do not appreciate you spreading rumours about Me across the fediverse. I have reported your comment for harassment and I expect you to leave Me alone from now on.