Seeing a lot of discussion about people being bugged to put discussions of their experiences with racism behind content warnings and friends, this isn’t a good thing.
I like Mastodon’s CW culture but.
BUT.
Come on now.
Let’s be clear that CWs are great. But someone existing as different from you, as a marginalized identity, does not go behind a content warning. And talking about the discrimination they experience might make you uncomfortable—trust me, when I experience racism, it’s very uncomfortable. The response is to try and do something about it, not to tell them they’re making you uncomfortable.
@skrishna I agree with your point, but doesn't that same "don't look away" logic work for many political posts, too?
@LouisIngenthron @skrishna There isn’t one logic for all uses of #CWs. For #politics, especially election politics, it’s often not about that.
CWing the 24-hour political news cycle is more often a #MentalHealth issue, not a matter of the specific political issues. CWs let people manage their healthy exposure levels.
With this logic for politics CWs, you can also see how personal experience of marginalized people does *not* fit that criteria to #CW as “politics.”
@robinshipton @skrishna How so? Especially given the overlap between the two subjects?
For example, posting about police abuse against POC. Is that minority experience that shouldn't get the CW or political and should get the CW?
White people’s musings about racism and CWs
@LouisIngenthron @skrishna I think that’s going to depend on who is posting.
A Black person posting about anti-Black police violence will know keenly whether a CW is needed for their specific post.
A white person posting about anti-Black police violence doesn’t have the direct experience to judge that right every time, and should use a CW every time so their posts that fall short won’t ambush their Black followers.