As I said before this is an unsafe site for Indigenous people. I’m out. Don’t bother DMing me. I’m scrambling my password and locking myself out of my own account. I’ve grown to care for and trust a lot of you so it’s hard to leave but it is clear that this site isn’t for me. I understand that the world and internet at large is really shitty to vegans so I understand and support the need for a safe space to process your experiences and to practice your dunks. All the best, signing off.
Reposted here since it is invisible where I first posted it. https://hexbear.net/post/94432
Its a bit concerning that the post calling out the racism of people referring to indigenous people as barbaric was removed. I think this is going to drive a lot of people away from the site. There are ways to have these discussions without resorting to bigotry.
Yeah I’ve been around from pretty much the beginning and was on the old sub a long time before that, and this is the first time I have felt like I have to self-censor to avoid mod retribution. I get wanting to grow the site and provide safe spaces for all sorts of communities, but when one of those communities become antagonistic to far more oppressed/marginalized groups that’s a problem and I won’t stand for it.
It’s absolutely possible to acknowledge that longstanding and even cherished traditions in minority and indigenous cultures can be problematic with regard to the goals of the larger socialist project without being a bigot or chauvinist about it, but those conversations should start in those communities - not on a predominately white, predominately american shitposting forum - and have no reason to be a priority within the larger project until well after the liberation of those cultures. The issues that are present and aren’t just imperialist bullshit and western chauvinism dressed up in emancipatory language are trivial compared to the insane, industrialized injustice of shit like factory farming and trying to make people feel like shit about them is extremely counterproductive. Also, context really fucking matters and people on this site should be real goddamn aware of it when we live and breathe irony and analysis. Using the term “barbaric” to describe anything isn’t great, but at least if you apply it to things like the conditions and practices in US slaughterhouses you aren’t directly reinforcing hundreds of years of violence and racism. Using “barbaric” like a slur is using a slur and should be bannable. We routinely ban for less.
A message for my fellow white westerners: Do you consider animal liberation integral to the goals of socialism? Are you “concerned” about indigenous traditions like, for example, hunting marine life? Here’s an idea: focus that time and energy instead on issues in non-minority communities like seal clubbing by white hunters, cleaning up ocean plastic, transitioning away from petroleum products, and greater accountability for companies and individuals directly responsible for the destruction of marine habitats. Heck, even the Japanese policy excluding whales from protection is fine to fight against as long as your criticisms aren’t racist (there are Japanese environmental groups oppose it! find out how you can support those groups and use your position in the west to boost their message without co-opting it!). Focus on positive and productive preservation and repopulation efforts and environmental causes to help make wild habitats more livable and reduce the impact of yourself and your own community. You’ll save more marine life and further animal liberation more than you ever could condescending and denigrating indigenous people, who have endured centuries of genocide at our hands and as a result occupy a small fraction of the population and are responsible for an even smaller fraction of the animal cruelty inflicted globally. Stop fucking throwing racist, chauvinist stones in glass houses. Work on getting western traditions like veal, fox hunting, and other murder tourism like safaris outlawed before you think about bringing up comparatively minuscule problematic traditions in oppressed communities you don’t belong to.
