mekka okereke :verified:
This is an important PSA for folks looking to make any place more inclusive. Do you want to be liked by everyone? Or do you want to make progress?
I don't know anyone that has both been successful in transforming a non-inclusive place, and hasn't been accused of sounding hostile.
It takes a huge amount of energy to dance on eggshells, and I don't have time to do it. So I don't. I'm a big boy. I crack sidewalks when I walk. So eggshells would have no chance anyway. 🤷🏿♂️
mekka okereke :verified:
If you try to say that Mastodon can't afford to be more inclusive, or that it's not important for Mastodon to accommodate all the Twitter refugees, I'm going to disagree with that, and point out that those talking points echo unapologetically anti-Black talking points.
If you view this as hostile, I can't help you with that.
Let me be clear on what is going to happen:
* Mastodon is going to become a better place for Black users.
* Mastodon is going to become easier to admin for small orgs
Brian David
@mekkaokereke It's striking that this is one of the few "fedi is open and therefore you can't stop us from making it safe" takes I've read, but I've seen about a million "fedi is open, therefore you can't stop Meta" takes.
mekka okereke :verified:
Right now, I'm ignoring everyone saying that the Fediverse can't be better, safer, and more inclusive than it is today, and easier for new non-technical users to onboard, and easier for admins and mods to administer and moderate. And it will be better for app developers.
Eugen and AreOh don't always agree. Folks that work on Chrome, Safari, and Mozilla don't always agree. Folks that build parts of Android and folks that build parts of iOS don't always agree. But they all agree on this.♥️🙏🏿
mekka okereke :verified:
CalcKey, MissKey, PixelFed, Lemmy, and Kbin too.👍🏿
"We can't increase the number of Black people in tech! It's too difficult!"
"We can't fight the power structures preventing college athletes from getting paid! It's too difficult!"
"We can't reduce the number of people killed by cops! It's too difficult!"
But we're doing all of these things. And we started by ignoring the dudes who said the above things.
The 1st step is "accepting the challenge." People working together can accomplish a lot.
Woozle Hypertwin
@mekkaokereke @InayaShujaat @Kay
As a white person (for whatever that may be worth), I actually kinda like this new custom of capitalizing "Black" because it lets me signal unobtrustively that I'm trying to be inclusive, even if I sometimes mess up.
Relatedly: a right-wing relative recently passed me an editorial from the UK arguing that capitalizing "Black" is doing it wrong, US political issues are being imposed on the rest of the world, yadda yadda... and I'm, like, yeah, I see what you're doing there. Not buying it.
mekka okereke :verified:
This doesn't mean I always change my words! As I said my goal is not to please everyone all of the time. It's to not be misunderstood, or unintentionally hurtful as I make progress.
Eg some people are upset by the fact that I capitalize the word Black. I sometimes get this feedback. I don't change it. I'm not being misunderstood by capitalizing the word Black.
Some people are upset when I point out systemic racism. I don't stop pointing it out. I'm not being misunderstood.
mekka okereke :verified:
With the right perspective, the same exact behavior perceived as hostile by some, is seen as super helpful by others.
I said "Twitter refugees" in the above post. I would have gone on still saying it in future posts, oblivious to the fact that my words are unintentionally hurtful to some of my friends.
Kay let me know that my words might be perceived very differently than I intend.
So I changed the words.
Kay's feedback was very helpful for me. ♥️
Inaya Shujaat عنايه شجاعت 🇳🇿
@mekkaokereke @Kay I get called “hostile” when I ask people to stop calling themselves “Twitter refugees.” I also get told that they’re traumatised by leaving Twitter, much in the same way Syrian children are traumatised when they’re forced to leave their homes. 😑
Kay :heart_bi: :tinoflag:
@mekkaokereke good post.
Small suggestion, people who have fled real world conflict zones or environmental disasters, and their supporters, have asked if posters can avoid use of term "refugees" for people leaving Twitter.
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