POC - especially WOC and I see this happen a lot to Black and Indigenous women in particular - get told off for being "too political" just for talking about _the reality of their lives_. And now you want us to put such talk behind a content warning like it's a trigger? Do you know how often us talking about race gets fought back by White people as "omg you talking about racism is too triggering" as though racism doesn't affect OUR mental health? What's the cultural expectation here, geez!

@creatrixtiara I ask for CWs on politics stuff because as an immigrant and partner of a long term sick person with disabilities in a country that's viciously hostile towards all of those groups - to the point where several UN investigations have found and condemned persistent systemic rights violations - discussion of political news gives me massive anxiety spikes

@creatrixtiara much like with any other content warning, I would like to not just have news about how the government has announced it's going to try and force me to leave my home or deny help to my friends and family shoved in my face, especially since it's a pretty constant occurrence here

@creatrixtiara and CWs allow for that discussion to happen without me having to shake in my seat 24/7

@creatrixtiara it's not a hostility at all IMO, the very point of CWing it is so that that discussion can happen when people feel able to engage in it without ending up shaking in their seats, especially in the current geopolitical climate where this shit sends basically everyone into anxiety spirals

@creatrixtiara like I don't want to not discuss politics because that's only going to make all that shit even worse, but CWing it means I can skip over it when I'm not capable of handling it

@theoutrider Having been on way toooooooooooo many discussions where me just saying "hey, that thing you just said is racist" got met with a ton of "OMG HOW DARE YOU, YOU BRINGING THIS UP IS TRIGGERING, I HAVE MENTAL HEALTH NEEDS!!!" from white people, yeah it comes off as hostile now.

@creatrixtiara ugh, yeah, that's fair and a bit shitty :/

@creatrixtiara let me rephrase it as "it's not hostility from my side at all" then

@theoutrider thanks!

@creatrixtiara I think if anyone gets mad at you posting subjects you mentioned in your profile un-CW'd, that person needs blocked

@creatrixtiara but like, I want to talk about politics too but I know a lot of people here and in the US who get V anxious about polit stuff, so i try to CW it when I do

and as others suggested, getting away from the endless stream of shit news being beamed straight into my face with no warning is one of the major reasons I barely use Twitter anymore vs masto

@creatrixtiara in my case "CW politics" generally means "discussion of/comment on geopolitical news of the moment"

@theoutrider so less personal more newsy?

@creatrixtiara yeah, that's my approach to it at least

@creatrixtiara anyway, will step away for a bit, need to get the weekly shop done

@theoutrider I guess it would help if there was some set of guidelines somewhere for what counted as "political" because the over-broadness is troubling and ultimately unworkable at least in my case :|

@theoutrider I face a lot of similar issues to you, it sounds like. Which is why I don't know if it's really a good idea for you to follow me on most platforms because I'd rather not have me just talking honestly about my life (which often involves dealing with issues like these head-on, immigration is the bane of my existence) end up anxiety-inducing. Sorry.

@theoutrider I'm sorry to hear that. I might suggest you mute me then because I would not know what aspect of me just talking about what I go through in general (I'm also an immigrant from a country that's very hostile to pretty much every identity axis I'm on) is going to be anxiety-inducing for you.

@creatrixtiara I also don't really want to mute you because you're clearly a good person who I suspect I'd like discussing politics with, but ta for the warning (my anxieties are mostly about UK politics fwiw)

@creatrixtiara I got asked to content warning discussion of queer discourse

The people who asked me for this were themselves queer and participated in that discourse at other times, but preferred not to randomly see it on their timeline because it made them angry and sometimes they just don't have it in them to contribute

It very much depends on who follows you and for what

@creatrixtiara oh, so -that's- what happened...
I thought it was a "nice thing" to do to use a CW for politics stuff, but people actively telling other people that they don't want to hear their complaints... that's just bullshit ò___ó

@creatrixtiara is someone demanding you use CW for political talk? that's inappropriate. I support you challenging that. particularly around experiences of oppression.

I use the CW tool, because I want to give people the choice to opt in, when my other posts are lighter. but, if that practice is feeding a culture of silencing voices against racism, sexism, transphobia, etc. I will stop.

In solidarity.

@UnaSpenser no one here has asked me to CW anything just yet, though I have gotten stuff along the lines of "you calling me out on my racism is triggering" elsewhere :\

@creatrixtiara glad to hear no one's pushing for CW.

As for those who cry "triggering", we can let them know that they are gaslighting and using their social power to invisibilize the marginalized experience. 'Cause that's total BS. I have no tolerance for that.

@UnaSpenser well just because no one's asked ME directly doesn't mean no one's pushing for it. People keep telling me "oh it's not anti-racism we want you to CW it's Trump/macro politics" but what I can't get a clear picture on is whether talking about your day-to-day experience that has some intersection with what Trump et al did needs to be CW'd too. It's not like they're completely separate.

@creatrixtiara requiring political posts be CW'd is not helpful to anyone but those whose lives can be lived comfortably without hearing about it.

The personal is political. So, as you say, it would require CW'ing everything to remain apolitical.

A lot of Trump-related stuff is just a blatant exposé of already existing forms of oppression. We all need to face it.

CW should always be an autonomous choice. People can be muted if a user takes issue with content.

@creatrixtiara I'm sorry I couldn't go into this more in the article, but TL;DR yes, yes, and yes. Here is a thread I made when this shit actually went down, if it helps: https://mastodon.social/@marrus_sh/923608

The reason I focused on queer communities in my article is because I honestly didn't know where else to start. But what you are saying is a conversation that has needed to happen for some time.

@creatrixtiara

There is no solution which satisfies everyone, I guess.

(Science nerd: not even aqua regia.)

@Algot this seems like a rather dismissive response to my queries. I don't know if you were intending that, but it's not even just "well you can't satisfy everyone!!". These are serious questions around culture and systemic barriers, especially on a project that touts itself as more welcoming of diversity than other social media networks.

@creatrixtiara

I apologize. No dismissive intent. Snark fails almost universally in print, even with the addition of emojis.

The chemistry thing was a joke and clearly failed horribly.

Please bear with my old-brain farts.

@Algot It's not the format, it's the timing.

@Algot like, snark in this case wouldn't really have been appropriate no matter the format, since it's a White person snarking at a POC talking about race, which is usually a dismissive measure.

@creatrixtiara

One of the real draws of Mastodon is its opportunity to develop a more direct connection with others from many cultures and backgrounds.

I clearly need to develop a more effective approach.

Please help me to analyze my mistakes so I may improve.

Thank you.

@Algot Well I've given you some starting points but at some point you're gonna need to take on the analysing work for yourself, so

@Algot I think it's great that you're learning about this from the things @creatrixtiara is saying. But keep in mind that you're learning from her, for free. This is stuff that she could be teaching at a university level and be getting paid. This is her lived experience. Her trauma. She is being so generous to share with us. You should thank her and then seek education elsewhere, not ask her for MORE free labor.

@Tehfraga (haha I appreciate that you think so highly of my content but man i wish i could just get a job full stop let alone a uni teaching job)

@Tehfraga @creatrixtiara

I totally agree.

I plan to exercise my ears while giving my mouth a rest.

@Algot always a good idea when it comes to oppression you don't face. I hope you will seek out more POC and TQPOCS to follow and engage with. I also hope you talk with your white friends. Research and learn together about racism and white privilege.

@Tehfraga @Algot
Social media is amazing because it gives people the opportunity to listen to conversations we wouldn't have otherwise had access to. If one is someone who is used to being centred in conversations, it also affords an opportunity to get used to listening rather than speaking.

Before I reply to things, I have to ask if I'm communicating new information to ppl in the discussion. Very often, I'm not.

@Algot And I don't see what chemistry has to do with this?

@creatrixtiara Ugh. I was hopeful because the folks who introduced me to Mastodon are QTPOC but this is concerning and makes me wonder if the whiteness of open source might trickle over to here. I like the CWs for hiding spoilers, explicit images, and triggers, but obviously when it gets to "talking about the experiences of black lives is a trigger" we've gone off the damn deep end.

@queeractivist ooooooo who are they and can you recommend me some / introduce me? I've met a couple of other POC here but like a handful of QTPOC overall

@creatrixtiara Happy to introduce! Meet @khoshekh & @mxroo, a couple of awesome humans! Also @yellowibowtie.

@queeractivist @khoshekh @mxroo @yellowibowtie@witches.town hello hello :D (also hey I know Cordelia :D)

@creatrixtiara @khoshekh @mxroo @yellowibowtie "Introducing" people who already know each other, it's what I do best! :-D

@queeractivist I have one particular best friend who seems to know literally everybody, even those I didn't think he'd have any interactions with, he's kind of an Eldricth being that way

@queeractivist @creatrixtiara @khoshekh @mxroo @yellowibowtie hello other qtpocs!! Commenting to hopefully remember to connect with y'all later on!

@creatrixtiara @queeractivist there is also the wonderful goldie_ice on .social !

@queeractivist @creatrixtiara i though the rot-13ing mentioned there was mostly because every time anyone said anything gnu social peeps would barge in and try to drive people away

@creatrixtiara @queeractivist if this is still about the article and not your instances' rules or whatever

@Nire @queeractivist no I mean the article, my instance doesn't have rules about that kinda thing

@queeractivist @creatrixtiara which is still a problem >_> but less so

@Nire @queeractivist or well any rules that involve ROT13 being necessary

@creatrixtiara @queeractivist right, it was essentially replaced by cw

@queeractivist @creatrixtiara that said when people say 'tag poltiics' they usually mean macrogeopolitics like the orange hair man

@creatrixtiara @queeractivist you know, what not marginalized people think are 'politics' :eyeroll: