Jesus what a day.
Apparently, a couple of exceptionally popular YouTube creators were talking on Twitter about being blocked by me. Their fans grabbed their jump to conclusions mats, torches and pitchforks in hand, and went on a rampage through my mentions.
So I guess it’s time for the obligatory blog post that I don’t want to write but need to write, about how I use social media.
First off: I think I know what happened in this case. A couple months (or maybe it was weeks; in 2018, hours can feel like days) ago, a toxic YouTube personality with a large and unsurprisingly toxic following just went after me one day, without provocation. Over the years, people have tried to create the illusion of a feud with me, in an effort to get my attention and grab some free publicity to drive up views and subscriptions. I always ignore these things, because they are childish at best, and they invite a kind of negativity and vitriol that I would prefer not to have in my life. (As a side note, if someone claiming to be a social media expert pitches the fake feud idea to you, fire them and burn their contact information to the ground. That person is an idiot.)
Anyway. This person already had a following that eclipsed mine by several a factor of at least ten, so they weren’t going to gain anything if I gave them the attention they were looking for. It honestly felt like a young person who was feeling powerful and wanted to use the power of their following to make my life miserable, to entertain the shitty people who follow them. In my efforts to be empathetic to this person, I will freely admit that, when I was in my teens or early twenties, I probably would have thought that what they were doing was harmless, and that the person who was being attacked and dogpiled probably deserved it for some reason, and that they shouldn’t take everything so seriously. Thankfully, I grew up and out of that mentality.
So awhile ago, when this person turned my Twitter mentions into a goddamn Nazi rally, I did a little work to track down patient zero. I found this person, blocked their account, and then blocked their followers, so they would lose one of their attack vectors. I freely accept that a lot of innocent people were caught up in this massive blocking, and many of them are YouTube personalities (because it appears that, at some point, an explicit or implicit agreement was made among YouTubers that a lot of them would follow each other on social media. I wonder why good and decent people would follow this toxic person, but that’s on them, not on me.) In the aftermath, a lot of these YouTube personalities have, at some point, made a bunch of noise about being blocked by me. “Oh why did this happen,” they wonder, “I’ve never interacted with this guy. Please tell me, dear followers who worship me, whatever did I do to deserve this great injustice.”
Real quick: In this example, I present the imagined locutor as acting in bad faith, but can sincerely relate to that feeling. From time to time, someone I know and like RTs someone, but I can’t see it because I’ve been blocked by that person. I usually a have a little bit of a sad, because most of the time that person who has blocked me is someone I would like to see on Twitter, but I don’t pitch a fit about it, because I am a goddamn adult, and they don’t owe me anything.
I have said this on Twitter in a thread before, but I don’t think I’ve said it here: if you think you were wrongly or inadvertently blocked by me on Twitter, I’m painfully easy to get in touch with so you can ask about it and get it removed. Like, you certainly don’t have to, but you can if you want to. If you throw a fit about it and send your followers after me, you’ve made me feel like I don’t regret blocking you by accident. If you do this thing that people do where they are just asking about it and don’t really mean anything wink wink (sealioning), I don’t regret blocking you by accident. I want everyone to understand that Twitter is a mess, because Jack is a terrible CEO and doesn’t act like he cares at all about limiting Nazis, trolls, Russian bots, and other bad people. I believe that he doesn’t care because every single time someone or some group of people work hard to solve his problem (which is all of our problem) for him, he treats it like a public relations problem, not a systemic problem on the platform he runs, that is making the world a worse place due to his inaction. Because Twitter does not make it easy to manage and reduce attacks and other bad acts, we have to rely on imperfect tools like shared blocklists, extensions that help us identify and block trolls and bots, and tools that do mass blockings of an account’s followers. I’ve said many times, it’s a blunt and messy and imperfect instrument. It’s a nuclear bomb where what’s really needed is a rapier, but we go to war with the tools we have. Thanks for nothing, Jack. I hope you believe that the money you are earning is worth the damage you are inflicting on the world, and I hope you sleep really well at night.
Back to this morning. My mentions turn into this morass of anime avatars, poor grammar and racist, bigoted attacks. So, as I said above, I felt like I didn’t particularly care that I blocked these people, if this is the way the people they attract behave. If you attract a lot of bigots and trolls, you may just be a bigot and a troll, goes the math.
But that’s where I think, hey, maybe things are a little more complex than that. Because when multiple millions of people follow a person, that person can’t be reasonably held to account for everything every one of those followers does. Sure, there’s the glaring and profound exception of people who encourage and condone terrible behavior because they engage in it themselves, but most of us who have large audiences are going to end up with a few bad folks in that audience, because of math and human psychology. A few people who follow and/or know these guys reached out and said, essentially, “hey, these guys are good people and knowing what I know about you, I think you’d probably get along in regular circumstances. Please don’t let a small representation of their audience affect the way you feel about them.” I will admit and own that I can intellectually agree with that statement entirely, while emotionally struggling to be as graceful as I’d like to be in my idealized self.
Part of me really wants to unblock these people, because they seem like genuinely good people who exercised poor judgment. Another part of me doesn’t want to reward bad behavior. The biggest part of me believes that in about 18 hours nobody will care about this and they’ll go back to rolling in towers of YouTube cash, forgetting that I ever existed.
So I don’t know what I’m going to do in this instance, but since I’m spending the time writing about it, I want to make the following points very clear, so I have something to point to the next time this happens:
- I actually use Twitter and other social platforms the way people use them. I’m not a hashtag brand who doesn’t care. I’m a real person who really looks at mentions and stuff. I’ve said it before: if you cut me, I will bleed.
- Nobody is entitled to my time and attention. Yes, I block thousands of people on Twitter, because it’s that bad for me on Twitter. Yes, I block lots of people who I’ve never talked to and never will talk to. Usually, that’s because they’ve announced to the world that they’re garbage by following a garbage account that trolls and bullies and attacks people. Occasionally, it’s a mistake, and when that mistake is brought to my attention in a mature and respectful way, I do my best to correct it.
- Chris Hardwick gave me great advice that I’m going to paraphrase here. He said that when you’re interacting with a person, and your first reaction is GO FUCK YOURSELF, think about all the times you’ve wanted to unleash Hell on someone, but three or four or seven messages later, you can talk like people and move on with your lives. Hardwick says that he does his best to start out at that seventh message, so he doesn’t blow up at someone in a way he’ll regret. I do my best to follow this advice, but I admit and own that when something like tearing children away from their parents is the issue at hand, I don’t have any patience or understanding or acceptance of someone who is anything other than sickened and outraged and horrified by it. There’s never gonna be a seventh message with that person, because that person holds beliefs that are reprehensible to me. But when someone is pissed about a joke they didn’t like on Big Bang Theory or thinks I ruined tabletop gaming by making it more accessible, or has taken a friendly sports rivalry too far, it’s a lot easier to get to that seventh message.
- When Twitter treats abuse as a serious, systemic, societal issue with real consequences, and not as a public relations challenge, all of this will change. Until then, I will continue to use clumsy and blunt instruments to make my experience on the platform as nontoxic as possible. In other words, I’d love to use a lightsaber, but right now, I only have a blaster at my side.
- Remember that there’s a real person on the other side of your social media interactions. This is especially important for young people, because there is not a person alive who can hurt and be hurt like a teenager. I promise you that you’re going to get older, and you’re going to be mortified by the terrible things you did when you know that you should have known better. If I blocked SuperYouTube6969 and you think they’re the greatest thing since memes, don’t take it personally. I can assure you that it has nothing to do with you.
- Let’s all do our best to start out at the seventh message.
- If you’re a creator with a large audience, whether you like it or not you have a tremendous responsibility, and you have an incredible opportunity to decide if you’re going to use that audience to enrich yourself, or if you’re going to use the privilege you have to make the world a better place. How do you want to be remembered?
- As always, don’t be a dick.
I know there’s more I want to say, but I have a raging headache right now and what I really want to be doing is working on my novel, so that’s where I’m going. Feel free to discuss this in a non-shitty way in comments here. And if you’re one of those people who was inadvertently blocked by me, let me know so I can take a look.
Thanks for listening.
As always, I appreciate your kind and thoughtful comments.
As useful a tool as social media can be, it can also cause immense hard and suffering. This is the main reason I limit my online presence to a little Facebook (even that is getting a bit annoying these days). Your handling of these degenerates is commendable, Wil and I wish more online personalities had that amount of control. I might not see eye to eye with you on some issues but, nothing is a valid excuse for being a bully – online or otherwise.
I follow both you and Anne on Twitter and you both definitely seem like real people with real lives. Anne is literally my favorite person on Twitter. Thanks to you both for being yourselves. It matters.
Bravo
As someone who grew up with you, I am always inspired by your honesty and your candor. You are very upfront and open with your process and again I have taken a lot of this advice to heart. I have taken blocking very seriously in 2018 because if you are garbage you are not worth my time. I hope we can fix the toxic parts of the things we love. Also thank you for helping me find myself through TTRPGS, and giving me the courage to seek out help for my depression, and for inspiring me to brew beer. You are a stand up guy Mr. Wheaton
Wil yer a decent guy. Maybe you care too much about people who might not deserve a moment of your time. So I’ll say on your behalf; screw those peons whose bandwagon bullying is the only way they can feel a “part of” as if tearing someone else down makes them “better”.
If you ever need a pen-wielding pit bull of poetic predilection to handle your public pipinjays, gimme a holler I’m always up for a mental Mosh pit.
😀
I have a licence to quill & a paper shredder standing by.
Thanks again Will. My 2 guiding principles in life are “Don’t be a dick” and “Do the right thing”. The second one is up for more interpretation than the first but I feel everyone knows when they are being a dick.
I want to note that I (In a separate, isolated incident, not the one mentioned above, not sure about that situation you are referring to) was also blocked by you on twitter. Now this is entirely my fault, I did a mean (if in a light-hearted meaning way) gif harkening back to your ST:NG days (You can see where this is going.). I do want to take the time to apologize for it here, since I cannot do so on twitter (the block you see).
While I meant it in good jest, I was unaware of the harassment you had been going through. I’m sorry, knowing now that is a sore point for you. I want to say that even though you blocked me for it, I’m still your fan. I loved Tabletop, and that show was the reason I bought Betrayal at the House on the Hill when you played it (never regretted it for a second).
I take full responsibility for my perceived meanness, not knowing how much it offended you. You don’t have to, but if you unblock me (My twitter handle is the same name as this) I would happily follow you again. You don’t have to of course, and I could understand why you wouldn’t. That is not the point. The point is I wanted you to know I am sorry for my actions, and this was the best way I knew how to do so.
Unblocked. No hard feelings.
I subscribed to your block list quite a while ago. I think it has saved me a lot of grief. 😉
I got so angry and frustrated when you are attacked like this! I know that you are a decent person and it is just so unfair. Our society is deeply troubled.
It’s posts like this that make me really happy I follow you. You are an inspiration in decency, sir. And thank you for being a good person not getting sucked into the crap, cause we all know that people suck. Not all, there’s some out there that ruin things for the rest of us. Stay amazing!!! 😊
Hi Wil. My account (@TGNProfessor) has been blocked by you for a few years now. I’m pretty sure this is a block you inherited from Randi Harper’s blocklist (I’m not entirely sure how I got on that list, but there have been quite a few decent people who ended up there and got blocks spread across half of Twitter). I would appreciate if you took a look at this.
Thanks.
Unblocked. Sorry about that.
I agree with the whole Twitter thing, about them looking in the wrong direction. It’s why I left there, even though I haven’t been the target of any sort of hate mob. I don’t care to be someplace where they refuse to deal with a problem that, if the behaviors happened at a PHYSICAL venue, they’d be CALLING THE COPS TO REMOVE THE TROUBLEMAKERS and then training their security folk to not let those people back in under any circumstances.
Love it.
Wil, you do what you need to take care of yourself. You are a real and good person with valid feelings. Do what you need to keep yourself safe and sane. Be proud that you know when to stop dealing with the bullsh*t- it’s a real skill (developed only through xp) that many never seem to quite learn. And, as always, thank you as always for reminding the e-universe to not be a dick. The e-universe needs this reminder.
From another emotional and sentient being on the internet -that is luckily not at all famous(!) –
I feel your pain of facing blatant rudeness. Regularly playing lol, I can tilt for the entire day if someone says something rudish enough whilst I’m on a bad mood, so I would probably not survive a hundreth of the storm you face. Sending all my platonic love, us non-horrible people on the internet must stick together!:P and when you get this pushback from not-so-great-people, remember that there are a whole lot of us that support you in despite of them.
Hi Wil,
One of the reasons I don’t Tweet a lot is because of what you encountered. I don’t have (or want) anything like the Twitter following you have. I’ve given serious thought about closing my Twitter account over the last year. It doesn’t seem to serve much of a purpose anymore except to occasionally draw attention to some near and dear causes of mine.
It’s a shame Twitter has to be that way, but until a cleanup crew arrives, the garbage will continue to pile up and stink.
Hi Wil. I want to congratulate you on you self restraint and ability to own your own character. If all of acted the same way the world would be a much better place.
Wow. I really F’ed that one up. I guess I should proofread better.
Dear Mr. Wheaton- thank you for your posts. I found your blog a few years back and besides the one by scifi author Sharon Lee yours is the only one that I consistently read because of its variety and thoughtfulness. Please know that you are important
Oh man, that sounds like a really rough way to star the day. I hope writing makes you feel better… and the good vibes from all your fans that want Wheaton’s Law to become the new Golden Rule. 😉
We love you, don’t let the trolls get to you!
Wil,
I’ve never used Twitter. Too many trolls lurking there. Played TTRPGs heavily in the 80s. Loved Tabletop! Keep up the good work!
-M-
Thanks for these words. Your response seems perfectly rational to me, a nobody who nobody gives a crap about on social media. People seem to have begun to take for granted that being awful to others on the internet is a thing. I hope eventually we all realize there are real humans out there. Take care of yourself!
It sounds like today was terroble. I sincerely hope your tomorrow is better.
As someone who follows not only you, but the two YouTubers in question, I have to go with you on this one. Petty attacks, for profit or otherwise, aren’t in either of their natures, so I was dumbfounded when I saw them talking about it on Twitter this morning. They both know by now that some of their fans can jump to conclusions and/or pick up those damn torches without any real thought about the situation nor the other person involved. I mean, it’s their twitter and they can say whatever they want, I suppose, but they should know better by now.
I’d love to say that it was because the guy that tweeted about it originally was tired from just getting back from his honeymoon this morning, but I honestly don’t know what his thinking was (I’m quite certain that he wasn’t thinking). No matter what the reasoning was behind it, it was incredibly irresponsible on their part. Period.
As someone that suffers from anxiety and depression myself, I understand how awful the toxic, boiling assheap twitter is about ninety-nine percent of the time can make you feel. I block people left and right (mostly right…) for the garbage that they spew on all of us daily because the internet is the one aspect in my life that I get to definitively cut asshats out of. If some random person decides to shit in my cornflakes online, you bet I will block them. My own brain does that enough, I don’t need strangers behind a computer screen to do it, too.
To wrap this novel up, though, I hate that you had to go through that. Shit like this always sucks and you definitely didn’t deserve the attacks that you received today. You’re an amazing person and I’m so sorry that you felt like you needed to come on here to explain your side of things even though your actions were reasonable. Most of us with a brain understand and have your back.
I hope that your headache goes away as soon as possible so that you can work on your novel more (I can’t wait to buy it once you publish it!), and that you can hopefully have a better night than you did this morning. Take care, Wil. 🙂
nice , that could have just as easily been a Commencement speech, that is a very eloquent way to Say It,s not Me it is the environment for which your growing your seeds of Ignorance and Hate . Please step into this house of mirrors amd restate that so you can see yourself.
I have been reading your blogs for about 4 years I think could be more,? This one is amongst one of your top 10 for allowing me to understand the feelings of a Celebrity. Mist of the time when I meet Celebrities at a Convention where I am either a promoter’s assistant or guest Liason I hear the real person behind the persona , and you have given to most humanity I have been witness to. keep up the good work .
And by all means Please take care of yourself first.
When I read posts such as this one, I feel very protective of you. Perhaps because I’m old enough to be your mom, it is a kneejerk reaction to want to send all of the offenders to their proverbial corners for a time out. (As if that would help……) You’re a good and kind person who only wants to connect in an entertaining and creative way. You, like everyone, are entitled to an opinion about current events, relevant issues and human behavior. What would be entirely novel is a graceful and civilized discussion if opinions differ. Wow. What would that be like?? Twitter can be vicious, and I completely understand the protective moves you have made to avoid stress and conflict. I try to navigate carefully when I follow others who initially seem interesting or funny. But I back the fuck off when they are cruel and unyielding. I’m so sorry the loud and vocal minority have reached you and caused a headache. Please do whatever works to decompress and get rid of the pain. This world is a better place because of you. Singlehandedly. xo
As always, well said.
I haven’t gotten to the point of blocking anyone on Twitter, yet, though there are a couple of asshats that probably deserve to be. There’s one who calls herself Trump Deplorable who chose to comment on some tweets of mine talking about being a Navy veteran from a family of Navy veterans who would all gladly #TakeAKnee. We all served our country to protect and defend our constitution which includes the right of individuals to peaceably protest injustices like POC being unfairly targeted and killed by law enforcement. She called us a family of traitors. I saw her profile description. She says she’s an AMERICAN (her caps, not mine) of Irish and Mexican heritage who can shoot and doesn’t need the government negotiating her pay. Well, bully for her. If she wants to live on an income that’s75% of her male counterparts or try to live on a minimum wage that leaves her below the poverty level, so be it. I do not. I don’t understand how someone who claims to be proud of their Mexican heritage can adore a misogynistic bigot who thinks all Mexicans are free loading drug dealers. And, of course, it wasn’t that long ago that Irish immigrants were the despised members of American society.
I’ve simply chosen not to engage her. As my father would say, ignore them and treat them with contempt. But then, I’m a pretty small fish in the Twitter-verse. It’s a lot easier to do that when virtually no one reads your posts. 🙂
The world we live in at times doesn’t make any sense and I believe that statement is true now more than ever. Luckily, you go and post something that should just be common sense at this point for all of us. Unfortunately, it’s not. Thanks once again for speaking your mind Wil.
Fascinating. I have no idea if you ever receive or read anything I write to you. But it’s okay because I read your articles and follow you because you strike a wonderful chord within me. And as with your recent article about trolls, twitter, etc — I agree wholeheartedly. Sometimes people who are toxic simply need to be exiled. We can, as a matter of choices: A) grow up and get a real life free from from toxicity; B) we could and should stop feeding the trolls because, well, trolls; C) those who are innocents can contact a person, should they choose, to be reinstated in good faith; D) not be dicks in general whether on social media or irl. Just sayin’.
Hi Wil, I just wanted to thank you for sharing your blocklist a while back. Since subscribing to it, it’s cut way down on the Nazis in my stream and substantially enhanced my enjoyment of Twitter. Indeed, without it I would probably have left by now. It is truly amazing what a difference it has made, and I think you need not apologize for doing the filtering that Twitter refuses to do itself.
Totally honest question, “Why use Twitter at all?” I’m not a famous person, but it seems like there are better alternatives, no? Is Twitter, as a platform, a required venue?
Hi Will,
I’m one of the many transgender women who found ourselves blocked by you around the same time Randi Harper blocked a lot of us. My assumption had always been that my account ended up on your blocklist because you used her BlockTogether/Blockbot back when that was a thing. I agree absolutely, of course, with what you say about no one having an obligation to anyone else’s time or attention; I wouldn’t come to you about this at all if it weren’t for the fact that you’re extremely high profile in nerd culture, I’m a scholar of nerd culture who was involved (and on the same side as you) with the whole GG debacle, and your blocklist has propogated to other people.
It’s quite possible I followed the YT personality you mention. I’m fairly certain we’ve never interacted, but it’s possible you had an excellent reason for blocking me. Plenty of people have legit issues with my posts, but the timing of how all this happened makes me think this is a misunderstanding, so I wanted to reach out. I hope that isn’t crossing a line – I certainly won’t bug you after this post. But, my Twitter is @BootlegGirl, and I would appreciate if you are so inclined that you might reexamine having me listed on your blocklist.
Most sincerely,
Ellie
Hi! Thank you for reaching out. I would love to unblock you, but you blocked me, so I can’t do that. If you choose to unblock me (and you don’t have to other than to give me access to unblock you), I’ll totally get this taken care of. I’m sorry for any frustration or pain that I inadvertently caused you. You certainly don’t deserve it.
Hi Wil, sorry if this is a duplicate – the commenting here doesn’t seem to get along with my connection. I’ve unblocked you from my end
I’m sorry you had to go through that. You don’t deserve it. Some people dicks sometimes. And they don’t remember your law. I always remember it.
Wil, I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with a mass dumping of troll garbage. I believe you to be someone of integrity, and your blog to be sincere. Thank-you for sharing of yourself.
I am not on Twitter, so I have not been blocked on that social platform. While the analogy may be faulty (I had to take courses over the summer during my college years, basically equating to Physics, Chemistry and Biology for The Mentally Inadequate), I always felt Twitter was a black hole that pulled all the intellect, ethics and accuracy out of anyone’s words into oblivion. I do follow itswilwheaton on Instagram, I enjoy the dogs, the bedhead and the humor. Take care of yourself, your family and as for the rest of us…we can just understand.
I truly can’t understand this terrible need to hurt people just to be seen. What sad little lives they must have. It feels like self loathing turned out.
I am sorry that you had to take time away from your novel to deal with this crap. Part of this is selfish since I am really looking forward to buying and reading the book.
And thanks for doing what you did.
Re: more important topics, will you be making WorldCon in San Jose?
When’s the next Radio Free Burrito? And who did that Hollywood song in If This Be Sin?
Hope this finds you well(er), and that you received the dub reggae cd and music scribbles I sent c/o Opus Ent.
And condolences on the passing of JP Steuer.
Cheers from heres ie SF
MLH
Well said. I really appreciate your advice at the end-especially as it pertains to young people. Anonymity of social media makes people brash and reckless but it’s very personal especially to teenagers. The youth suicide rate in my community is horrifying – we need a little restraint and a lot of kindness. Thanks for the post!
“In other words, I’d love to use a lightsaber, but right now, I only have a blaster at my side.”
I love you…(in an utterly platonic kindred sort of way)
Thank you for being you and occupying space on this piece of rock the same time as me…
Over and over again I am impressed by you. Keep blogging, keep blocking, keep on keeping on.
There goes Wil again. Using his writing gift to make the world a better place. Thanks, Wil. We love you!
Hey Wil. I just wanted to mention that by being reasonable and responsive to Twitter users you are really REALLY skewing the curve. Thought and reason is obviously not what Twitter is for. It’s mostly a tire fire on a garbage heap kinda place. Anyway….love you man. Carry on.
Social media is a drug designed to keep you engaged through any means necessary. The result is predictable. Put the pipe down Wil.
Wow! It really sucks to be you. I didn’t realize things were so bad for you. I haven’t used Twitter in a long time or Facebook for many years. Although I think I am a big deal 😁 to those I have real life relationships with and those I help regularly, I’m not that big a deal in that what I do or don’t do on social media is going to affect a cure for cancer, stop pedophiles from raping children, or feed the hungry. If people put down their phones and actually did something about about these things instead of talking about it, the world may be a better place.
I hope I don’t sound like a garbage person (because im really not!), but being harassed on social media is a first world problem! Do you know how many people in the world would gladly trade their problems for yours? I’m not sure you realize how much worse it could be for you.
Thanks for minimizing my experience.
There’s always someone worse of. Doesn’t mean that you have to suck it up. Doesn’t mean your own experience hurts less, either.
Way to be supportive, Tiff………
p.s. I follow this blog because someone forwarded it to me who knows I suffer from depression and anxiety. It has been under control for a long time but I still appreciate learning about and trying to help others. Do you have a blog or other writings where you just cover mental health?
I don’t, but I write about it pretty frequently here.
I will never understand how people find it so difficult to not be a dick. I feel it takes massive effort to be a dick to someone intentionally.
I’m so sorry this has happened. Twitter has exposed me to ideas and viewpoints that I’d never thought of, broadened my mind, made me more conscious of other people. And I’ve made a lot of real friendships through Twitter. But there’s also the emboldened fearful, angry people who think spending their time trolling and antagonizing others is a good thing. They seem to keep growing and it’s just so…dumpsterfire.gif.
On the other hand, I’m very glad I clicked the “Notify me of new comments” button on your NAMI speech post. Seeing it continue to get lovely comments, reading other people’s stories, honestly brightens my days.
I hope your headache clears off and you get some writing done.
p.s. Never mind. I stumbled upon Invisible Against Trump looking for more mental health posts. Although I didn’t vote for Trump, I find it difficult to read the way you talk about human beings (not him per se but a large portion of the US). Such hatred for fellow humans bothers me. I have no idea if you believe in God but I know He doesn’t put people on the planet just willy-nillie. He puts each one here on purpose and with a purpose. I can’t account for why some turn evil — that’s way above my pay grade! But I know and know of plenty of people you would consider garbage or deplorable (mentally ill, addicts, poor, unemployed) who have turned their life around. (I don’t know if they would still vote for Trump in their non-deplorable state or not!). The way you write about other human beings is troubling to me. How can you talk at all about being abused on Twitter?
Wil posted that in December 2016. With a nearly 100% degree of accuracy, everything he said would happen has happened. It sounds to me like you can’t handle the truth.
I’ll assume you’re not a troll, and start with the seventh message:
Reread the article. It’s easy to understand why he talks about being abused on Twitter — he says it, right up there, repeatedly. And then, since you don’t like ‘hatred for fellow humans’ – go talk down to a Nazi, instead of Wil.
You’re right. I reread this post and others and found it nothing like Invisible Against Trump. I didn’t vote for Trump or care about him in any way or spend time thinking about him or consider or weigh what he says. I just ignore him. (The same goes for Nazis). I have potential for anxiety/depression and people who count on me so I can’t blow up my system. I have limited bandwidth and have to be choosy about what I take in and process.
However, I did care about what Mr Wheaton was saying (mostly because of his involvement in NAMI which I care about), and I spent time thinking about and considering his viewpoint. Because I believe in a higher power, I thought it was unnecessary to be so worked up about something as inconsequential as a software program and I was uncomfortable with the way Mr Wheaton was talking about other humans in Invisible Against Trump. I didn’t say anything I wouldn’t say in a meeting or group therapy (which is often about life and death, literally).
———————-
I’m told I don’t have to be so serious all the time, so on a lighter note: I agree with how stupid the Wesley minifig is; the Lore rerun was on recently and I really thought the crew had been infiltrated by aliens by the assinine way they were treating Wesley; but I disagree about it’s effect — I think it made the adults seem really enept and silly. Also, on child acting, I did a little modeling when I was young and remember how icky I felt with people making over me like I wasn’t even a real person (especially men, yyyyuck)
Dear Tiff!
I am a Woman of faith, too, and I can see, what troubled you in the tone of the other article. I even think, that inciting voters against each other and making them believe, they are enemies for their different opinions is a trick of those in power. There is, however, something like rightous wrath. Maybe it is easier to just ignore the Nazis and the Right-Wings who talk of refugees or brown people with disdain if you don’t live in Europe.
Well, I do. I wasn’t born when those particular atrocities where raging over my Country, however, I do have Friends and Family, who have been.
A Woman, who was told, she should be gassed, because she was unmarried and childless at age 28.
My grandmother’s neighbour, who was sent to a concentration camp for giving a lunch to a forced labourer from the wrong “race” – for aiding the enemy.
My other grandmothers’ Uncle, who was murdered for having a head injury.
My halfbrothers’ grandfather, who only survived because his “Aryan” mother divorced his jewish Father. – and the war was over before Phase 2 could be implemented.
I work for a media station and frequently have to work with Clips of murdered babies, of furniture made of corpses…
Now I am not comparing what’s going on in your country with what happened in mine 80 years ago.
But in mine it did start with an economic crisis, with a lot of People, most of them good people, afraid for the future, with People dissatisfied with how politics worked… With other people trying to appease. It didn’t start over night. Empathy has to be quelled slowly.
If you’ve read Will’s other articles, you’ll realise, that he is trying hard to stay gentle and kind, even with people who are mean or he disagrees with. But sometimes it’s all too much to be a saint.
Let me repeat: I can see, why you’d be troubled. I am troubled too by the building of camps of opinion and the rift in Society telling you: you have to be right or left (When I actually want to be over there, in a three dimensional room, not on a line.)
But with all I have seen and read so far of Wil Wheaton: He is one of the good guys. Even in his rant he didn’t talk about specific People. But to be honest: if I see Pictures of drowned refugees on an italian beach and a Right-wing voter tells me: “Well it’s their own fault for wanting our dental insurance. (laughter) Well, that way, they can come, if they want! On the Floor of the mediterean is space for everyone!” (and yes, this DID happen to me) I feel hate and disdain for a fellow human being too.
It’s horrifying and sickening what happened in Germany. I never said I was neutral on evil and injustice. I’m grateful for those who can get the media’s attention, lobby, and organize. I can help at the local level. I would have been one of the ones smuggling people out of Germany. Human evil is a trigger for me and I want to help when I’m capable. (Many in the US who have brain, mood, and addiction disorders pray the Serenity Prayer. You can Google it. I won’t write it here out of respect for Mr Wheaton).
My ancestors left Germany before it was bad thank God. No one talks about it but there was a movement in the US also to cleanse us of the “. . . paupers, prostitutes, criminals, tramps, inebriates, all tending to be born somewhat defective.” Also, the inferior, inadequate, unfit, and substandard (which are all synonyms for ‘deplorable’ unfortunately). Many organizations worked to eliminate births to ensure a ‘better race.’ Thousands of citizens here were forced sterilized for being prostitutes, poor, and disabled. I, and many others in NAMI, would probably have been targeted.
American Eugenics:
https://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/webedition/app/documents/show.php?sangerDoc=240474.xml
https://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/webedition/app/documents/show.php?sangerDoc=129037.xml
https://www.nyu.edu/projects/sanger/webedition/app/documents/show.php?sangerDoc=238946.xml
Unfortunately, Hitler was impressed by our eugenics practices:
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/unwanted-sterilization-and-eugenics-programs-in-the-united-states/
I will not disrespect Mr Wheaton by quoting him in his own blog, but he has said publicly he is an atheist.
You’re right! Thanks!
I didn’t mean to imply that I’m neutral about injustice. I’m grateful for those who speak publicly, lobby, and work to affect national policy. I am more comfortable working at a local level however.
Your post makes no sense at all. You are complaining that people don’t tolerate the intolerant. If you “tolerate” the intolerant, you are actually supporting them. If you hide behind god to promote bigotry and hate, you are a person who deserves to be shunned. The Nazis gassed people in the name of god while others tried to appease them. You know why god allowed the Nazis to do this? Because he doesn’t exist. Believe in god doesn’t make people good, in fact, it seems to make them worse. One look at the wife-beating women-molesting race-bating president of the US and his followers proves this point, if it hasn’t been proven already by the Nazis and countless other movements who killed in the name of god.
This blog was suggested to me because I have experience with NAMI. I’m just an old lady (relatively) nerd both by chosen occupation, although retired, as well as congenital defect! Of course I know of Mr. Wheaton professionally but hadn’t done my homework on his personal-public persona as he chooses to disclose. I was taken aback by his focus and anger at a software program that is really unimportant in the real life scheme of things as I see them. And I was uncomfortable to read the way he talks about fellow humans in other blog posts.
I admit fully that I felt this way because, presuppositionally, every thought I have is colored by my belief in a higher power. Some that say they are Atheists, which I didn’t know Mr Wheaton claimed to be one, say that life is purposeless, random, temporary, and ultimately inconsequential. Every thought I have is based on life being purposeful, planned, perpetual, and ultimately important. Subsequently, my reaction is likely going to be opposite and I’m ok with that. I’m not saying that Mr. Wheaton is bad, or inferior, or going to hell, or anything close. I’m just explaining why I think I had the reaction that I did. Take it for what you will.
I won’t wimp out and stop following this blog right away in case anyone has comments!
@physicalist: No, the Nazis DID NOT gas People in the Name of God.
They hated christianity, just as well as judaism. They gassed People in the name of ideology of pure race and breeding Programs. They invented a church tax to make People leave the church and a few other propaganda stunts to turn people away from faith.
Those in the higher ups who DID have a faith, made up there own creepy Version of what they thought german paganism was. Himmler was occultist. Magda Goebbles, the Propaganda minister’s wife, who poisend her children, when the war was lost, was a Buddhist. Jehohva’s witnesses were brought to concentration camps or executed for their faith (They refused to fight because of “Though shalt not kill.”)
The plan was to first eradicate the jews and any one with jewish blood, than the Catholics (in the nazis eyes sort-of-jewish-ideology) and then the protestants.
Alfred Rosenberg even demanded “On the Altars should be Nothing but “Mein Kampf” and to the left of the altar a Sword”
Hitler despised Religion because his believe, that Religion gave People a conscience and cripples the natural selection because it makes People protect the weak.
He hated Catholizism especially, but all other Christian denominations where close behind.
They gassed People in the name of natural selection. (Because they evidently did not have the faintest clue about it. As evidenced by the fact that they sorted my grandmother and her sister into two different races. Yes, full blooded Sisters, different race assignment. Even my then eight year old grandmother could see the flaws in that logic.)
You are incorrect. The Holocaust was a Christian jihad rooted in the foundational Christian concept of the culpability of the Jews, the so-called Blood Libel. The centuries of pogroms rooted in that part of Europe flowered into humanity’s greatest atrocity. Hitler, of course, was deeply religious (not remotely pagan or occult, but staunchly Protestant) and ample historical record supports that, if you care to look. The material is easy to find. The persecution of Christians in the Holocaust was the persecuation of Christian sects considered heretical by the “mainstream” German Protestants of Nazism. Hitler’s alliance with the Catholic Church is also well documented. Consider reading up on the Reichskonkordat of 1933.
In our present political situation, it’s important to dispel myths.
i agree. It is important to dispell myths. ^.^
Pennymarvel’s other posts show she has much firsthand personal/family experience with the Holocaust. It’s disrespectful to disregard her knowledge.
Pointing out the truth about shitty humans doing shitty things isn’t “hating other humans” — it’s telling the truth. If you can’t handle the truth, that’s your business, not anyone else’s, so you might want to keep that to yourself. Thanks.