Thread by @JinkiesJerrica

lots of “you have a smartphone!” gotcha replies to me saying that buying Hogwarts Legacy harms trans people

you want to know the difference? modern society has made smartphones a life necessity. playing Hogwarts Legacy isn’t a necessity

https://twitter.com/jinkiesjerrica/status/1613603862715469824

“how is owning a smartphone a life necessity?”

my job requires me to use a two-factor authentication app called Duo

i asked my supervisor “what if i didn’t own a smartphone?”

the reply?

“we’d expect you to get one after your first paycheck”

my grad school? requires two-factor authentication via SMS (text message) to access the online student portal, which is required for all courses, online or in-person, because that is where assignments are posted and submitted

i am painfully aware of how smartphones are manufactured

my father is from Kenya. i know well about the exploitation of the African continent and my people

i know about the sweatshop slave labor used in China to produce a smartphone

but this is why the aphorism “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism” exists

not as an excuse to avoid accountability for our decisions, but in acknowledgement of the fact that participation in capitalism is coerced, and even necessities are extracted from exploitation

i pursue harm reduction as praxis

i don’t shop at Walmart. i tend to buy certain electronics used (such as my recent laptop purchase) for both environmental and human rights reasons

i tend to shop local to minimize participation in corporate supply chains

am i perfect? hardly

but do i at least make an effort to reduce the harm i cause through my participation in capitalism rather than being passive about how my choices affect others? absolutely

and that’s why your “but you have a smartphone!” replies mean nothing

y’all act as though people shouldn’t try to improve society even a little unless their choices solve every social injustice

that’s both unrealistic, and vile

the unwillingness to try to solve small problems because there are bigger problems, is unequivocally selfish

like, imagine saying “you shouldn’t buy an electric or hybrid car to reduce carbon emissions, and reduce global dependence on oil, because cars are made from minerals extracted from mines from slaves

might as well keep driving gasoline cars”

that’s how dumb you assholes sound

so yeah, i do have a smartphone, but guess what?

a smartphone is a modern necessity for work and school. Hogwarts Legacy is a video game: it’s a luxury, not something you need to participate in society

if you don’t see the difference, you’re not as good a person as you think