General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: The chilling effect of misogynistic trolls [View all]Wella
(1,827 posts)If someone posted a thread showing the Ferguson cop's shooting pattern and whatever future medical report there is on the cop's condition (and we still haven't seen it, but pretend we have), would the very act of posting that information, without any other embellishment, be perceived as racist in this forum? In other words, the post itself would be seen as acting in opposition to all the other Ferguson and police brutality posts?
I don't know how one would make that call. I also have a feeling that the seven anonymous people who make the decision after an alert is made would vote to HIDE IT and the poster of that OP might be accused of being a right wing troll.
I think there may be some feminist issues that fall along those same lines. For example, if someone posts a thread about post abortion psychological issues some women have, couldn't that also be perceived, in the context of a board in which abortion is a lightening rod subject for women Democrats, as a misogynist (or anti-feminist) post?
Here again, I don't know how one would make the call. But I do think there would be more debate about whether the thread should be hidden, and the poster of the OP might not be considered a troll but a continuing member in good standing.
These are very touchy subjects, I understand. It's just hard to know how misogyny is being perceived. I think everyone agrees that rape threats are not only misogyny but criminal (and should be acted upon as such). However, some of the posters tell me that some of the people who make these threats are not instantly banned. That's a huge concern for me.
However, some posts are not so clear cut. The Spiderwoman post was interesting to read for that reason. I didn't get involved in that because I don't read comics and, quite frankly, was a little afraid of that thread. However, it was pretty clear that the picture, while appearing to be a typical Spiderman type pose, was also overtly sexual in ways that the Spiderman poses were not. The question is whether or not people who saw it differently were being actively misogynist or if they really didn't perceive how the picture could be offensive. Sometimes, that's a rough call. That doesn't take anything away from the feminists pointing out the arched back, the obsession with the butt; it all depends on whether or not you think someone is acting in bad faith or not.
And that takes me back to the Ferguson issue. I get the impression (after three paranoid accusations in one day!) that a newbie posting about the shooting pattern of the Ferguson cop would be immediately perceived as a troll and banned as such. I get the feeling, however, that an anti-choice post or a post arguing that the Spiderwoman pose was not misogynist (by a newbie) might not be perceived in the same way as trolling.
I don't know for sure. But often I think that misogyny is not taken terribly seriously in our world and that message boards reflect that.