While I will probably get attacked for this, I think I need to say something as a person who does not conform to gender stereotypes. The whole fiasco relating to #
FediForum being cancelled due to statements made by one of the co-organizers of the event is a hot mess.
When some trans people realized that one of the co-organizers had made statements that were perceived as transphobic, a social media storm ensued, with people backing out and overall were very upset at what was said by the co-organizer. And rightly so. Some of the things that were said were upsetting. Tempers were high, and there were some threats made by various parties.
When this came to light, organizer @
Johannes Ernst made a post stating that these statements made by the co-organizer were not consistent with the event, and said that the co-organizer would be leaving. And about 24 hours later, posted from the official account for the event that she has been removed from involvement. Some people are claiming that 24 hours is way too slow of a response, but I think they are being unrealistic and unnecessarily critical.
And then the threats and attacks kept coming, so it was decided that the event would be cancelled, which was probably a good move considering the situation. And no matter what Johannes did, someone would be upset. It was certainly was no-win situation.
But, this whole fiasco has me thinking. How could this have been handled better?
Proper vetting of co-organizers would probably be good. Posting your political thoughts under an alias would also be a good idea.
I am proud of the people who pointed out that the co-organizer's behavior was inconsistent with the event's code of conduct. And I am glad that Johannes did something about it.
But I am also questioning the attacks made by certain individuals. I can understand pointing out that a person's behavior is not consistent with the stated code of conduct of the event and requesting that person's removal from the event, but some people went too far by making threats, calling people rude names, and just being mean. That is not a good thing and just makes the rest of us look bad to outsiders.
It also makes me wonder if only people on the left are welcome to this event in the future. Because, apparently, if you have a different opinion, you might just get attacked.
So do I just not invite my moderate and right leaning friends to future events? They are not transphobic. Heck, they not only put up with me, but are nice to me, despite the fact that I don't conform to gender stereotypes. But they aren't on the left politically either. Will they get attacked for not being a leftist or because they said something wrong years ago?
So, I don't know what the future holds for @
FediForum but I certainly don't view it as a non-partisan event any more.
Anyway, enough of this rant. I will probably be blocked, banned, attacked, or whatever. But someone had to say it.
