Social LGBTQIA+

shade

be sharp, say nowt
is a Senior Staff Member Alumnusis a Smogon Discord Contributor Alumnus
Following this ensuing shitstorm and a related event, I have removed the link to pokepride in the OP. The culture surrounding it is far too toxic to be worth any hassle and semi-official nature it is afforded by being advertised itt. If the server fixes up maybe we can look at it returning to the OP in the future.

basically stop being fucking gimps if you're bored go see if u can harden your knuckles by repeatedly punching your fists together
 

Eve

Bzzt!
is a Site Content Manageris a Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Smogon Discord Contributoris a Contributor to Smogon
Community Leader
Writing this to collect my thoughts on today and how the server should change moving forward, seeing as I've been given some amount of influence on the server (now a helper).

Drama has been regularly cited as the issue with Pokepride lately. I'd disagree with that- the drama is a response to the existing issues with the server. Users have clearly felt the need to band together in an attempt to enact changes to rectify things they percieve as problems, whether that's with the server's authority or the content/people they allow in. I haven't led any of these attempts, but I have wholeheartedly supported them. As someone who joined over a year ago, the decline in the server's vibe has been very visible, and I wouldn't say that's just coincidental. Still, some good users have left the server because they don't want to see the drama and that's completely understandable. Hopefully you choose to come back once the mess is all sorted.

I do think the biggest issues are behind us. The most controversial community figure(s) have been dealt with, and the new admin team has been willing to listen to the userbase. I'll be honest, I still take issue with some of my fellow leadership's reluctance to make judgement on people based on actions in other servers and how they have occasionally taken playing devil's advocate, in my opinion, too far. They know I do. I really think we need to be willing to deal with problematic users before they do something blatantly problematic in Pokepride, otherwise we're just waiting for the inevitable (and/or increasing the chance of people's messages being leaked to those not allowed in the server). Acting first and fixing later is the route I'd take in these cases- for an example, if a user is found to willingly associate with homophobes or wish harm on other users they should be removed from the community as soon as possible. If we find reason to revert that decision, then that's good! If not, we've probably saved ourselves a whole lot of #serious-discussion posts about slurs where said person tries to justify their association. Without such a change, I don't see how Pokepride can hope to seem like a safe place to be open for any of our intended userbase again.

I want to preface this part by saying I harbor no ill will towards any of the current server management, they're cool and they're trying their best!
Now to address the issues people have with the server's management, as a member of it! Fun. I fully agree that the server could benefit from some level of monitoring, whether by cong or site staff, if it becomes promoted by this thread again. Guaranteeing that there are people who can intervene with mismanagement is key. Alternatively, we could have a complete overhaul on how leadership is decided. A lot of promotion decisions in the server's history have been controversial or even seemingly random to many users I've spoken with, often resulting in a heavy bias towards current admins' friends. When dealing with a server that is A: directly impactful on smogon's overall image and B: full of sensitive information, careful management is necessary. While I do think management is looking promising as of now, there's absolutely no guarantee in the slightest that it stays that way. Potential solutions could be relevant Site Staff approving decisions, or gauging the community's opinion on who should fill the roles (my personal preference).

As I've said, the biggest issues appear to be behind us. We're taking caution on who's allowed in the server, and I fully intend to do my bit to make the community's concerns heard and make our community as safe as possible. I can vouch that the server was a massive help for me last year, and hopefully we can restore that environment (and cut out the inap stuff along the way, we're a kid friendly server cmon). If you'd like to make suggestions, send them our way as always!
Also sorry if this is rambly. I'm really tired. Have a nice day :blobuwu:

Edit: To keep everyone fully informed, the super cool Kris was also added to the leadership as an admin
 
So I'd like to start this post off on a positive note. I'm doing fine right now, I'm dealing with quarantine as best as I can, and I've halted pursuing transition on my own terms. That being said what I'm about to talk about is my life these last few months and how I've dealt with some pretty severe trauma. Naturally when talking about these matters it's going to be very triggering so consider this a formal Content Warning.

About 2 months ago in March I decided to sell my most valuable possession (a Gibson Les Paul Standard) and try to strike it out on my own in New York City. I was getting fed up with how unsupportive I felt my parents were with regards to my transition at the time and wanted to take matters into my own hands. The rationale behind my move is that the city doesnt require you own a car to get anywhere, there's plenty of jobs, and an accepting queer community out there.

I'll never forget my first night at a drop in center I was in a big, long room with a bunch of other homeless people separated by stairs. On one floor were the men and on the other were women. We were forced to sleep on lawn chairs as a single flatscreen TV played NBA for us. I couldnt sleep well that night, my back hurt way too much in the chair. I got maybe close to two hours after struggling for a while, meanwhile almost every other person was perfectly fine with sleeping in a lawn chair.

The next day I spent some time in Manhattan trying to figure out food stamps and whatnot. At the end of the day I went to another shelter, this one resembled a prison and had security guards everywhere. I was told it was a one night transfer shelter and that I'd be sent to another the following day.

When I approached the showers it looked like corrosion had eroded any kind of smooth surface on the floor. The floor of the shower was like this grainy concrete and you had to push this button continuously to make sure the water was running too. Needless to say the water was hot and I was grateful for a hot shower, so I accepted what I could to get through the night.

When I got back to my room my roommates took it upon themselves to talk very loudly about
smoking marijuana
. That night I think I got maybe 3 hours of sleep and the lack of sleep was starting to take a toll on me in conjunction to hauling my bag of possessions everywhere. I left from this other shelter early in the morning and made sure to continue signing up for welfare programs.

This new shelter was located right outside Spanish Harlem in it's own little island. This shelter was like it's own small correctional facility and the crowd of residents didnt help me feel welcome at all. There was no way I wanted to be openly queer in this kind of shelter. My whole demeanor stood out like a sore thumb and I could tell that I didnt fit in with the regulars there. It's at this point that i decided to hit up furry telegram groups for comfort when a random user told me to get out of New York City since it's a big money trap.

This person recommended that I go to Scranton, Pennsylvania (yes the same Scranton that "The Office" is set in) for job opportunities. That night I caught a bus back to lower Manhattan and slept in the Port Authority Bus Terminal waiting for a bus to Scranton. I slept on the floor as pigeons flew overhead and cops eyed the section I was in to deter homeless people from taking up residence. Again, I struggled for sleep, but tried nonetheless.

I boarded the bus and was on my way to Scranton, excited at looking for a job out in a safe part of the tri state area. However as I entered Scranton I saw a warning sign...an omen if you will. Some house had a giant banner, if I recall correctly, that stated: "TRUMP 2020", which if anything reflected the attitude to me that the people around here wouldnt take kindly to minorities or the homeless.

When I arrived in Scranton I immediately went to a building where an operation that helped homeless people functioned out of. They told me that the local church only houses out-of-county residents for 3 days max and that there were no actual overnight homeless shelters in the area. Feeling defeated I still checked in with a local warehouse opportunity that was apparently a shoo-in if I applied there.

I left for a day operated shelter and because of the news I just heard I checked into local furry telegram groups and found someone willing to take me in for the weekend, which would extend the time by which I had some residence for a few days. They told me to meet at the local steamtown mall and to meet their family as well.

The way in which this person dressed was unusual and they were obviously at least a good 15-20 years older than me, they came to meet me with their wife and kids. We initially hit it off and had a good time discussing topics...however as the night progressed I could tell something was off about this person. They were very strict and aggressive with how he treated his children. I shrugged it off and we went bowling that night and had some fun doing so. However after we went bowling he thought it would be perfectly reasonable to
visit a porn shop and let his kids stay outside with his wife
. I was disturbed by this, but I needed a place to stay and I decided to just ignore it as I was only aiming to stay with the both of them for the weekend.

It was by this point, he made several hints that he liked me and the day after I decided to give it a shot. I wasnt particularly attracted to either of them, but they provided me room and board as well as paid for a vast majority of my food expenses. What ensued though has scarred me and left me cautious of a lot of different aspects of queer, furry, and kink communities by association.

What was initially a weekend stay ended up being a stay that lasted over a week.
I engaged in threesomes and sexual activity with the couple in a "unicorn" kind of relationship, during which the husband raped me. Not only that, but I witnessed the husband physically abuse his children several times.
The husband especially creeped me out as he had a bunch of odd behaviors and kept making passes at me that made me uncomfortable.

During my stay with them I decided to cut my losses and come back home with my tail between my legs. However by this time coronavirus had become a serious concern and my parents wanted to prepare the house for my arrival, extending my stay by a few more days.
Towards the end I would drink alcohol to make the sex more tolerable since at this point I had no attraction to the husband and only an inkling towards the wife.
I dealt with this for a few more days until I got a bus ticket back home.

It took me a week or so after, but I mustered the courage up to block them and move on. What really stung was that I had a nasty cold from being there and it lasted a week and a half. I was worried about having covid and was mostly bed ridden for that time, but being home after such a horrible experience was more than worth it.

I'm still deciding whether to press charges on them for what I experienced and witnessed and I could go on about those two weeks, but I think this is where I should wrap things up. If you've read until the end, I thank you for your time and patience. Recalling what I experienced wasnt easy and just kind of reinforced how hard it is to be queer and homeless. Thankfully coronavirus has allowed me to relax and recover on my own terms. I wish you all the best of luck going forward and I sincerely hope none of you have to go through what I experienced.
 

Fivell

Banned deucer.
I'm really sorry for what you had to go through, Quinntessence. I agree with the post above: you should probably let the authorities know about this. Also, if you haven't already, please make sure that you check for STD's in the upcoming weeks if you have had any kind of unprotected sexual intercourse during that week (which I would assume was the case, judging by what you said).

Nevertheless, it is a good thing that you're able to let out those traumatic memories somewhere, as it is the best way to alleviate your burden.
Please be well and stay safe.
 

Fivell

Banned deucer.
I am transgender.

It's something I have known for a while now (almost 5 years), and even though I still question my validity every now and then when I get really dysphoric, I am overall fairly confident that I am a woman.
In that span of 5 years, I came out to many friends, be it IRL or online (and I'm openly trans on most social medias), but nobody in my family knows.
Except my parents.

I came out to them a bit more than two years ago, and at first it seemed like it had gone better than I had expected. They said many supportive things, and I thought I was going to be able to dress how I wanted and present as who I felt I really was at home. However, coming out to them felt really mentally draining, and it took me a few months before being able to bring the subject up again... which ended up in a huge clash and made me feel insecure, fake, and not valid for an additional two years.

But, uh, here we are, May 2020, and I have a definitive answer to the question of my answer... again. And it's the same as last time.
The main issue I'm confronted with recently is that I really want to sort of "come out" to my parents a 2nd time, but I can't really build up the confidence to do so. I was quarantined 400km away from them, so it would pretty much have to be over a phone call or a video call, and I've been trying to bring up the subject with them again but... it just never feels like the right time. I'm always afraid it will result in a clash, even though all I want is to be accepted by them.

Has anyone been confronted to that sort of situation before? If so, do you have any tips?
 
I wish I did have good advice. I waited way too long. I knew who I was for years but I also knew it was going to be ugly when my parents and coworkers found out. I was right. It hasn't been smooth or pleasant. I waited so long that I realized that if I kept living my life the way they expected me to there was a good chance that it was never going to happen and it was that realization that finally motivated me to act. If there was any benefit to waiting so long it's that when I finally did come out, I had no doubt. It was sudden and absolute. My family and I were already fairly estranged and I pretty much knew they wouldn't be supportive. I have expressed that I would like to have a better relationship with them but every time I try to see them they say or do something to remind me why I not inclined to spend time with them. If you are able to have a better relationship with your parents than I do I think it's definitely worth the effort. I really hope it goes well for you. If it doesn't go well, please don't let it undermine your sense of validity. That isn't a power anyone should have over you. Stay strong and good luck.
 

SiceXV

Banned deucer.
But, uh, here we are, May 2020, and I have a definitive answer to the question of my answer... again. And it's the same as last time.
The main issue I'm confronted with recently is that I really want to sort of "come out" to my parents a 2nd time, but I can't really build up the confidence to do so. I was quarantined 400km away from them, so it would pretty much have to be over a phone call or a video call, and I've been trying to bring up the subject with them again but... it just never feels like the right time. I'm always afraid it will result in a clash, even though all I want is to be accepted by them.

Has anyone been confronted to that sort of situation before? If so, do you have any tips?
hello, I agree with a lot of what dramlamb said and I wanted to give you some advice as well. If they were supportive the first time, I see no issue with you coming out again. I know you said that it ended up in a big clash the first time, but I think that's pretty understandable since it's life-changing and may have taken them a little off guard or they just need a bit of time to get used to. Also, I think you should wait til you see them in person as I feel like you should have a face to face conversion given the situation. Family is family no matter what and I do think they'll come around to accept you even if it's a little shaky at first. My friend went through a similar situation and from my perspective, it's better to get this off your chest because I know it can be very mentally straining.

I hope you give an update on the situation, I wish you the best of luck.
 
So I'd like to start this post off on a positive note. I'm doing fine right now, I'm dealing with quarantine as best as I can, and I've halted pursuing transition on my own terms. That being said what I'm about to talk about is my life these last few months and how I've dealt with some pretty severe trauma. Naturally when talking about these matters it's going to be very triggering so consider this a formal Content Warning.

About 2 months ago in March I decided to sell my most valuable possession (a Gibson Les Paul Standard) and try to strike it out on my own in New York City. I was getting fed up with how unsupportive I felt my parents were with regards to my transition at the time and wanted to take matters into my own hands. The rationale behind my move is that the city doesnt require you own a car to get anywhere, there's plenty of jobs, and an accepting queer community out there.

I'll never forget my first night at a drop in center I was in a big, long room with a bunch of other homeless people separated by stairs. On one floor were the men and on the other were women. We were forced to sleep on lawn chairs as a single flatscreen TV played NBA for us. I couldnt sleep well that night, my back hurt way too much in the chair. I got maybe close to two hours after struggling for a while, meanwhile almost every other person was perfectly fine with sleeping in a lawn chair.

The next day I spent some time in Manhattan trying to figure out food stamps and whatnot. At the end of the day I went to another shelter, this one resembled a prison and had security guards everywhere. I was told it was a one night transfer shelter and that I'd be sent to another the following day.

When I approached the showers it looked like corrosion had eroded any kind of smooth surface on the floor. The floor of the shower was like this grainy concrete and you had to push this button continuously to make sure the water was running too. Needless to say the water was hot and I was grateful for a hot shower, so I accepted what I could to get through the night.

When I got back to my room my roommates took it upon themselves to talk very loudly about
smoking marijuana
. That night I think I got maybe 3 hours of sleep and the lack of sleep was starting to take a toll on me in conjunction to hauling my bag of possessions everywhere. I left from this other shelter early in the morning and made sure to continue signing up for welfare programs.

This new shelter was located right outside Spanish Harlem in it's own little island. This shelter was like it's own small correctional facility and the crowd of residents didnt help me feel welcome at all. There was no way I wanted to be openly queer in this kind of shelter. My whole demeanor stood out like a sore thumb and I could tell that I didnt fit in with the regulars there. It's at this point that i decided to hit up furry telegram groups for comfort when a random user told me to get out of New York City since it's a big money trap.

This person recommended that I go to Scranton, Pennsylvania (yes the same Scranton that "The Office" is set in) for job opportunities. That night I caught a bus back to lower Manhattan and slept in the Port Authority Bus Terminal waiting for a bus to Scranton. I slept on the floor as pigeons flew overhead and cops eyed the section I was in to deter homeless people from taking up residence. Again, I struggled for sleep, but tried nonetheless.

I boarded the bus and was on my way to Scranton, excited at looking for a job out in a safe part of the tri state area. However as I entered Scranton I saw a warning sign...an omen if you will. Some house had a giant banner, if I recall correctly, that stated: "TRUMP 2020", which if anything reflected the attitude to me that the people around here wouldnt take kindly to minorities or the homeless.

When I arrived in Scranton I immediately went to a building where an operation that helped homeless people functioned out of. They told me that the local church only houses out-of-county residents for 3 days max and that there were no actual overnight homeless shelters in the area. Feeling defeated I still checked in with a local warehouse opportunity that was apparently a shoo-in if I applied there.

I left for a day operated shelter and because of the news I just heard I checked into local furry telegram groups and found someone willing to take me in for the weekend, which would extend the time by which I had some residence for a few days. They told me to meet at the local steamtown mall and to meet their family as well.

The way in which this person dressed was unusual and they were obviously at least a good 15-20 years older than me, they came to meet me with their wife and kids. We initially hit it off and had a good time discussing topics...however as the night progressed I could tell something was off about this person. They were very strict and aggressive with how he treated his children. I shrugged it off and we went bowling that night and had some fun doing so. However after we went bowling he thought it would be perfectly reasonable to
visit a porn shop and let his kids stay outside with his wife
. I was disturbed by this, but I needed a place to stay and I decided to just ignore it as I was only aiming to stay with the both of them for the weekend.

It was by this point, he made several hints that he liked me and the day after I decided to give it a shot. I wasnt particularly attracted to either of them, but they provided me room and board as well as paid for a vast majority of my food expenses. What ensued though has scarred me and left me cautious of a lot of different aspects of queer, furry, and kink communities by association.

What was initially a weekend stay ended up being a stay that lasted over a week.
I engaged in threesomes and sexual activity with the couple in a "unicorn" kind of relationship, during which the husband raped me. Not only that, but I witnessed the husband physically abuse his children several times.
The husband especially creeped me out as he had a bunch of odd behaviors and kept making passes at me that made me uncomfortable.

During my stay with them I decided to cut my losses and come back home with my tail between my legs. However by this time coronavirus had become a serious concern and my parents wanted to prepare the house for my arrival, extending my stay by a few more days.
Towards the end I would drink alcohol to make the sex more tolerable since at this point I had no attraction to the husband and only an inkling towards the wife.
I dealt with this for a few more days until I got a bus ticket back home.

It took me a week or so after, but I mustered the courage up to block them and move on. What really stung was that I had a nasty cold from being there and it lasted a week and a half. I was worried about having covid and was mostly bed ridden for that time, but being home after such a horrible experience was more than worth it.

I'm still deciding whether to press charges on them for what I experienced and witnessed and I could go on about those two weeks, but I think this is where I should wrap things up. If you've read until the end, I thank you for your time and patience. Recalling what I experienced wasnt easy and just kind of reinforced how hard it is to be queer and homeless. Thankfully coronavirus has allowed me to relax and recover on my own terms. I wish you all the best of luck going forward and I sincerely hope none of you have to go through what I experienced.
Sorry your experience trying to go to NYC was so awful. When you were here, what kind of shelter did you go to? Was it an LGBTQ+ shelter? Or was it a regular shelter? There are some shelters that specifically cater to those in the LGBTQ community (and I think there's one that specifically focuses on the Trans community? I have some friends who have been in that shelter before).
 

Lily

wouldn't that be fine, dear
is a Tutoris a Site Content Manageris a Top Social Media Contributoris a Community Leaderis a Community Contributoris a Top Tiering Contributoris a Top Contributoris a Smogon Media Contributoris a member of the Battle Simulator Staffis a Dedicated Tournament Hostis a Senior Staff Member Alumnus
UU Leader
I can't sleep. Enjoy some 3am thoughts.

As of June 1st, it's officially Pride Month. A month made not only for us to celebrate who we are, but to remember those who worked so hard before us to ensure that we could live without fear of abuse. In today's world, things can seem bleak - not only are we in the middle of an ongoing pandemic, but we're watching riots and protests unfold to counteract the systemic discrimination that infects our societies. It's scary. As tough as it may seem, though, now's the time for us to band together and fight back against these practices and further the world's progression.

For a lot of us, this can be a pretty tough June. Many who rely on their families or friends for emotional support may suddenly feel as though their lifelines have been stripped from them, while others may have been ostracised by these people to begin with. As depressing as it is, a significant portion of the LGBTQIA+ community dreads this time of year, because it serves as a constant reminder of pent-up pain and memories, and the solitude forced upon us right now is almost certainly not helping. Please check in on your LGBTQIA+ friends (and your friends in general). They may need it now more than ever.

This may be a first celebration for some who have only recently discovered their identity. Other seasoned veterans are ready to dust off their rainbow flags and get marching. No matter who you love, what you identify as, or how you feel, you are something to be celebrated. You are loved, you are wonderful, you are capable of anything, and as a community we support you in every step of your journey.

You have so much to be proud of. Happy Pride Month. <3
 
Hey everybody! Happy Pride month! In light of my recent coming out 4 years ago, I've been looking for ways to strike out on my own! My own house, my own job, all that shebang! My entire base of relatives are all super homophobic! It sucks big fat donkey dicks (in a bad way). Any suggestions plz
 
Hi everyone, I don't know if you can tell, but I am indeed gay. Specifically Bi tl;dr Depressed Gay sounds better than Depressed Bi, then I had my account deleted, and then I decided to come back after a few months of being away. I came out four years ago as well, and while I do live with ... questionable people in terms of support it honestly feels like I can only believe my one sibling when it comes to them not hating gay people I do the best that I can. Happy Pride Month
 

Fivell

Banned deucer.
Hello everyone.

First of all, happy pride month. I hope each and everyone of you is doing great during this month of celebration.
As I mentally promised to myself, I'm here to make a small update on my situation (check out #455 for details) and also to vent a bit.

I decided to follow SiceXV and dramlamb 's advice, and I waited (and am still waiting) to meet my parents again IRL before having another talk about my gender identity with them. I should be able to visit them this summer and I'm planning to go there around the 25th of this month.

However, gender dysphoria of all sorts has really been kicking these past three weeks, resulting most notably in one of my biggest mental breakdowns yet, a week and a half ago, that left me crying for half an hour straight in my bathroom.

I have been taken care of by a therapist since january this year, and I started having appointments with her again last month, over the phone. However, she's a free therapist (thanks to student health services) and gender is not her field of study.
In the past week, I made two decisions, the first being to seek out a therapist who has knowledge in gender related issues and the second to get on HRT as soon as I can, with the help of that yet unknown therapist. Since I'll be hanging at my parents' for most of this summer, I decided that I will look for my new therapist there.

However, now that my decision is finally taken, I'm more afraid of the idea of transitioning than ever. Dysphoria is still hitting really hard but I cannot stress out how much I'm afraid that the hormone replacement therapy goes badly, or that I regret engaging in this whole process later on, despite having felt dysphoric and having been wanting to transition for many years now.

On top of that, the sheer thought of my upcoming conversation with my parents makes me really anxious, and has thrown me back into questioning my gender ("What if it really is just a phase?", "What if I am experiencing gender dysphoria as a mechanism to cope with another trauma?", "What if I'm just a trender / a fraud?", ...)

Thankfully, friends and my girlfriend have been giving me a lot of support, so I am doing somewhat okay, but I'm still really stressed out over this whole situation and I think I needed to collect my thoughts somewhere.

Thank you for reading, and, once again, have a nice day and a nice month.
 
hey everybody, happy pride month.

been thinking on this post for a bit now - I knew I wanted to say something here before I really leave now that I’ve retired, but with everything going on in the world it was difficult to decide on what to talk about. Should I write about the pandemic and how difficult isolation in an unaccepting home can be for LGBTQ+ people? Or should I write about the recent protests across the country, which are an excellent means of showing we ought to do better when it comes to discrimination of all kinds in this country? Perhaps as well as my own experience in personally knowing well a gay, black cop and how we should be careful of dangerous generalizations when we say things like “ACAB” just as much as we should be careful of dangerous generalizations of the various groups within our own communities.

Ultimately however, I think it’s best for me to just avoid current affairs entirely and write about this community instead. Eight months ago tomorrow, I came out as trans for the first time, in the DMs of one of the best friends I’ve made here. A year and a half or so prior to that, I came out as gay for the first time; also in the DMs of someone who was at the time my best friend. I never would’ve been able to do either if not for the accepting community I’ve found here and especially on PS. I don’t think we’re perfect, in fact I think we have a very long way to go, but nonetheless I have nothing but appreciation for the role this community played in allowing me to find myself. I’ve seen myself grow more in recent months than in the several years prior, and I’m very excited to see where the world takes me next as I shift my focus toward the future.

I don’t believe that I am perfect either, I have made a lot of mistakes; I have an ego and at times it has absolutely blinded me, and I have many other flaws which have held me back from what I might have wished to accomplish, but all and all I fully believe that I am a better person now than the outwardly transphobic, self-loathing, shitposting neoconservative I was when I joined in 2017. And I again have this community to thank for it - I was exposed to a whole lot of “different” people and viewpoints, both when I liked it and I didn’t, and that caused me to reconsider a lot of what I believed to be hard facts.

I’m getting overly wordy again as usual, so I’ll conclude with this: I’ve been through a lot here - plenty of joy and plenty of pain, and leaving now really is bittersweet. I think it falls on every one of us here to try and promote tolerance and acceptance within the community in any way possible, as I tried (and many times failed!) to do, and I hope that we can stop ripping each other to shreds so we can focus on tackling the issues that effect all of us head-on. Maybe I’ll come back someday, and if I do I hope PS and Smogon as a community will be even better then than it is today, but even if I don’t come back I still hope that things will continue onward and upward, if only for the sake of those who come after me.

Thanks for the time, the care, the compassion, the education, and most of all the memories.
"we should be careful of dangerous generalizations when we say things like “ACAB” just as much as we should be careful of dangerous generalizations of the various groups within our own communities."
Over the past few months each and every person should have had many chances to understand systemically why the police enforces racism as an institution, not as a group of freely acting individuals ("good and bad apples"). Thus, I'm a little skeptical to type out this post trying to explain it in case it simply falls on deaf ears.

You should at least understand that petty crime policing was, and still is, largely used to disrupt black communities and detain black individuals for extended periods of time, as well as disenfranchise them forever. It was the new legal slavery to replace the old. Prison institutions profit off this (private prisons!), and this is no coincidence.
I'll also, in the spirit of pride month, point to stonewall. You mentioned that we all should "try and promote tolerance and acceptance within the community", and yet you extend this tolerance to those members of the police force, those who serve the institution which raided the Stonewall Inn, one of the only safe space for LGBTQ+ members to be themselves.
In both instances, the police brutally enforces the status quo. The police, as an institution, turns societal bigotry into something punishable by the law, because they are the law. They have murdered people for doing nothing wrong, still do, and yet you still believe they should have this power.

You should not extend tolerance to those that are WILLINGLY part of a systemically bigoted institution. To do so would be intolerant. It also offends me you would compare this to oppression in our own communities, where people are oppressed for their identities rather than the jobs they choose to carry out and what they choose to do.

I'm no longer referring to Robyn, but I want to bring this up:
I have seen too many people in this thread and server refer to an offended call-out as a 'brutal attack' and portray themselves as the victims of a difference of opinion, which they refuse to accept could be an important one (that they may possibly have a harmful internalised opinion). They call themselves alienated because of opinions and liberal beliefs to portray the other side as a fanatical angry mob. Sometimes you need to take a little fucking responsibility and question why people are angry.
 

yeezyknows

Banned deucer.
I'm no longer referring to Robyn, but I want to bring this up:
I have seen too many people in this thread and server refer to an offended call-out as a 'brutal attack' and portray themselves as the victims of a difference of opinion, which they refuse to accept could be an important one (that they may possibly have a harmful internalised opinion). They call themselves alienated because of opinions and liberal beliefs to portray the other side as a fanatical angry mob. Sometimes you need to take a little fucking responsibility and question why people are angry.
I’m angry on the internet so me being a dick to questioning lgbt teenagers is justified
 
I’m angry on the internet so me being a dick to questioning lgbt teenagers is justified
I'm angry on the internet about our internalised acceptance of harmful opinions that lead to disproportional death and imprisonment of POC so I'm going to call out someone spreading these beliefs. My post was apparently about you. Please stop saying everyone is a dick to you and instead question why they call your beliefs harmful.
 

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 2, Guests: 0)

Top