Thread by @HeyChelseaTroy

Let's talk about why this is hard and how to do it well.

I suspect you're going to hate what I'm about to suggest. It's not my snap reaction either, and I have had to train myself to do it.

/1

https://twitter.com/jtu/status/1489389606545940481

But it's worth it because ultimately what we're doing, as that tweet explicitly states, is learning to treat thoughtful people we trust differently than we treat Nazis.

Y'all, I hope it's really f**king easy to distinguish people with a humanitarian track record from Nazis.

/2

SO, I want to acknowledge the things that make it harder. And I'm warning you, this is not going to be fun to read.

/3

1. The internet in general, and Twitter specifically, is structured to reward people for pithy zingers.

A pile-on is a chance to get a zinger in, and you can do it guilt-free if there's a veneer of belief that you're punching up. A guilt-free dopamine rush is hard to resist.

/4

2. It's easy to assume something is true if a lot of people are saying it, or if someone we generally believe says it.

"I saw 4 people on my TL/someone whose opinion I admire call out this group for caving to grifters => That group is DEFINITELY caving to grifters!"

/5

3. Internet discourse moves fast and, frankly, white supremacy culture indoctrinates us into a sense of urgency that SCREAMS at us that the WORLD will end if WE, PERSONALLY, do not act RIGHT NOW

I wrote about that element of WSC here, if you care

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chelseatroy.com/2020/06/12/has…

So, now, the complications w those things:

1. I've watched people with 10 years of advocacy work get piled on over a bad tweet. That discourages people from participating in conversations about ethics. Because they see what happens if you get known for that and then fuck up.

/7

2. A lot of people can be wrong at once. Even somebody you LIKE can be wrong about something, especially if THEY temporarily ALSO forgot that a lot of people can be wrong at once.

/8

It's a truism in community work that, in the absence of information, people will assume the worst possible story about what you did.

And we laugh about it, but it definitely makes community work less attractive, especially for—uh—exactly the kind of people we want doing it.

/9

3. I know it's hard to remember this, but I encourage trying because it's wonderful news:

The world actually gets NO closer to ending because you took a minute to ask some questions, or look at someone's track record, before you tweeted about it.

/10

And THAT step—a step woefully often skipped, I'm afraid—is what makes "approach with curiosity, but also punch Nazis" so much easier.

Why? Because...

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...it gives you the context to realize "Wait a second. This assumption I've made about this person based on this one thing I saw is actually incongruent with literally every other thing they've ever said or done for their whole adult life"

"Something doesn't add up here."

/12

If you're reading this, I know that voice is inside you. Every thoughtful, caring person has it.

But it's easy for the thrill of the pile-on, the wash of internet consensus, and the crushing sense of urgency to scream over it and drown it out.

You have to listen for it.

/13

It is hard. It is especially hard when we insist on condensing the awareness-to-action pipeline into 5 seconds.

We have to NOT do that. We have to slow down and ask 'Wait. What does the little voice say?'

"I have always known this person to care. What am I missing here?"

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