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So, let me get this absolutely straight, Mick-Travis. You believe that being mean to homophobes is as "reprehensible" as homophobia? Same with racists?
That's what we in the business call "crack logic". As it happens, it mirrors in some ways the tactic applied by paranoidwriter when confronted with homophobia, and suffers from the same failing - it fails to take into account that homophobic language might not only be bad in an abstract sense, but also bad because it is actively hurtful, and seeks to hurt people. Homophobia is hate speech, and like a lot of hate speech it's quite hard to explain to somebody outside the group targeted by it that it is actually perceived differently if you associate it with acts of verbal or physical violence against your own person.
Homophobic abuse is also defined as outwith what is acceptable on Barbelith (as demonstrated by Hawksmoor's banning). Therefore, protracted use of this form of hate speech in personal attacks and outbursts puts you outside the entitlement to basic respect that Barbelith members are generally expected to extend to each other.
If you want to soft-pedal on people who launch protracted and offensive attacks on people on the grounds that they are gay, and on the state of being gay more generally, that's fine - there is a whole big Internet to do it in. Likewise, if you can work out some way of applying gayer acclimation therapy, so that in the end homophobes can have homosexuals crawling all over them and not freak out, then more power to your Internet elbow. You are quite right that homophobic abuse (not homophobia itself) is often the tool of the ignorant. It's also often the tool of the homophobe. If you don't think that mockery is the best way to handle people who are demonstrably set on attacking the values of Barbelith (and more broadly of civil society) in your book, that's fine - it's your opinion and you are entitled to state and to defend it, although I'd suggest doing so in the Policy. However, you might want to consider that people who are more generally aware of and indeed subject to homophobic abuse might have a different book from yours, and that Barbelith is set up with the intention of respecting their feelings. We don't always get the mix right, but we do try.
Post scripta:
1) I don't think this thread was set up with the specific intention of mocking idiot boy. It was set up in response to a request from him that anyone who did not gob him off (but not in a gay way) should post some of their own work so that he could indulge in some "creative criticism". I was, in fact, respecting his wishes, while hoping that he would be made aware of the absurdity of his position by the attitude the topic abstract and title presented - his own attitude. It is hardly my fault that he chose to use it to demonstrate that he doesn't understand how writing works. Again, if you check the timestamps I have a feeling that this thread was started well before he went into gay-hating meltdown elsewhere.
2) I posted a response upthread which addressed some of your concerns, which you may have missed - it's here. |
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