Now you might be thinking, what if you just start a platform to replace tumblr that is open and friendly to its banned content? It's a vacuum, right? Money can fill a vacuum, right? It'll work under capitalism, right?
Let's talk about Black Wall Street.
Let's talk about Black Wall Street.
Greenwood, Tulsa was an all-black neighborhood, designed from the ground up to be for black people and black business during segregation. It was a place for black people to do business and make a living. And it did so much business, it became known as Black Wall Street.
All across American society, black people simply could not do business or live in peace, and so Greenwood was founded. And it did so much business, it's estimated that a dollar changed hands six times per month there - on average in America, a dollar changes hand every year.
And that was just business, right? Capitalism functioning as it should to provide services and economy to a population stripped of both.
Well, see.
The other thing Black Wall Street is known for is this.
Well, see.
The other thing Black Wall Street is known for is this.
The euphemistically titled "tulsa race riots" - and you know it's bad when "race riot" is the EUPHEMISM for open Klan militarized assault up to and including aerial bombardment by privately owned planes - devastated the neighborhood so badly it never truly recovered.
What filled the hole since was a token effort at compensation in the 2000s by giving a bunch of the land to real estate developers, none of whom were a) black b) descendants of/residents of the neighborhood
Capitalism did not, could not, abide an aberration to the social order.
Capitalism did not, could not, abide an aberration to the social order.
If a site friendly to queer spaces and sex work were to spring up, it would be choked out and murdered as soon as it became successful. Period. Capitalism requires oppression to function as it does, and abhors liberation - even the kind that in theory should just be business.
Either a cultural shift occurs where tolerance flourishes, or the quashing and silencing and censoring will continue, time and time again. And by the time that shift occurs, the big sites will be the first and then only ones to make money from it.
The social order ABHORS SAFE SPACES. The railing against them isn't just fuckos being fuckos; the social order can't intrude on safe spaces and thus they cannot be tolerated.
Greenwood fought back. It still lost, but they understood the need, and had Great War vets and guns.
Greenwood fought back. It still lost, but they understood the need, and had Great War vets and guns.
A site you build must, MUST, have the tools to fight off attack. It will be attacked, whether by grassroots-level supremacist organizations or corporate assault. It will be under constant assault, aimed to destroy it. It will not be tolerated or be allowed to exist in peace.
So if you do want to make the new tumblr? Make it a god damn fortress. Let that be the takeaway.
Capitalism alone will not shield you. Do not trust or rely on it.
Capitalism alone will not shield you. Do not trust or rely on it.
(Oh, and although I can't help with a solution; don't forget you need a way for your users to monetize and get that money to their banks somehow. Paypal, banks etc. are all in on maintaining the order via blocking your use. Yes, they make this more important than MONEY.)
(ALSO also: has anyone ever looked into the transaction velocity of these online communities. Like, how many times a dollar within the community changes hands while staying in the community. I feel like it's a lot.)
