Seriously though, fedi was built by furries, trans and queer folk, disabled neurodivergent people.
This is the reason the culture here is what it is. Why CWs are a thing. Why image descriptions are a thing. Why privacy matters here. Why moderation tools not only exist, but are usable — and used.
If you had joined and asked yourself "wow, how come this place is so chill and kinda… nice?" — that's thanks to all the nice people from communities some people call "weird".
I posted this and the parent toot at the start of Nov'22 wave of new people and communities joining fedi, bringing their specific needs and expectations.
Fedi learned a lot about itself since then, including that it needs to dramatically improve on the #antiracism front.
We need to recognize that fedi failed#Black / #BIPOC folks, and do better.
@kyhwana no, they don't seem to be adding furry instances to TBS block list "just because they are furry instances."
I've been here long enough to see how BIPOC folks are treated by some around here. I mention that literally in the next toot in my thread.
I have no problem with BIPOC folks building safe spaces for themselves. The over-dramatic negative reactions to the fact these safe spaces by people who should understand the need for safe spaces flabbergast me, frankly. 🤷♀️
@rysiek The humans many humans call "weird" are the type of humans I prefer to interact with.
I am more likely to find kindness and respect among these demographics. There has been a lot less pain since moving here from Twitter. This platform is also easier for me to connect to, even before considering relatively recent changes to Twitter APIs.
@rysiek don't forget black folk and other PoC. fediblock is an essential tool and we wouldn't be anywhere near as safe without the hard work of Marcia and Are0h.
@morri this is sadly very true. I posted this before #BlackMastodon really took off and before a lot of the genuinely un-excellent examples of how very white fedi can be really hit me.
I did think about editing this toot, but decided to leave it as is as an artifact of its time.
I've been trying my best to boost as many BIPOC voices as possible here ever since.
@rysiek As always, making things accessible doesn't just make it accessible for people who need accessibility, but also everyone else.
You may not have debilitating PTSD that gets triggered by various stories, images etc. but I betcha not getting them in your face all the time is working to lower your stress levels, etc.
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