‘Your gonna get dead’ and other problematic comments people send my way

Content Note: racism, ableism, sexism, anti-LGBTQ, calls for violence,

Tonight someone, probably afraid, lashed out at me over a conversation about ballots. They said “Be part of the solution, not the problem.”

I was pointing out that the emperor (not him) is most decidedly not wearing new clothes. That’s a necessary step for a solution – describe the problem. I didn’t use any profanity, I wasn’t mean or rude. Just direct. There’s a problem. Let’s describe so it can fixed.

Getting slapped and smacked from the left AND the right is pretty much par for course in this work. I’d certainly rather read passive-aggressive moral admonishment than the comments (see below) from the right. But it is also exhausting.

So I grabbed some screenshots of random recent ugly comments, content I have to contend with every day in my message apps, my email, my social media, and as comments on public facing content.

This isn’t easy. I try very hard to stay on top of the worst of it, but it is impossible. That’s another smack I usually receive for failing to create a safe space on my Facebook page. That’s an unrealistic expectation for any social media platform. Meta wants you to duke it out. I want you to have access to important information, good stories, and an array of perspectives. I’m sorry that comes at a price.

This gallery contains ugly, offensive, and demeaning language as well as racial and anti-LGBTQ slurs. It is ableist and just mean content. But this is my ‘problem’ that can only be solved by investing in the blog. More resources means we can spend more time wading through this so you don’t have to.

This is one reason I absolutely believe my Black colleagues and friends saying lynchings are on the rise in the US. This is why I notice more and more incidents of ableism in my everyday life. This is why I cringe when protestors use sexualized slurs like “pussy” and “cunt” and “bitch” to insult the ICE Nazi. (That phrase is going to keep this post poorly engaged. Ah well …)

This is just a sample from the past few months. Locating these, downloading and editing to upload for the blog is a lot of work. It is also a lot exposure to hate, hate for the most part targeting me.

Now don’t tell me to report this to the FBI or the Pittsburgh Police. Been there, done that. It is pointless. When I receive a genuine death threat or similar message, I have a process to inform people who will actually help me feel safe.

I know that exposure is important. Sunlight sanitizes this violence a little bit. If you’d like to help me solve this problem please consider joining me in this work.

This is me describing a problem. Now, let’s talk about solutions.