Why is the anti-LGBTQIA+ hate so loud this month?
Because it’s Pride month.
I contend that hate is reactionary. It arises from the fear of difference… the fear of the other. I believe extreme conservatism tries to maintain the status quo and even restore old values.
Regressiveness is a reaction to progressiveness.
So the more progress love and freedom make, the more loud, bullying, and demanding hate and authoritarianism become.
I do believe we are making progress. Compared to ten years ago, it feels like there’s been movement toward more freedom for LGBTQIA+ people. For example, I see way more gay people and trans people sharing their lives than I did years ago.
The sad part is, I see more hate targeted against them. And violence of all kinds.
This is a frustrating reality. The more love is unleashed, the more hate is too.
I have to believe that love will win. That’s why I will keep trying to create safe spaces for all people.
Unity in diversity!
An observation: Twitter, now X, has become a horribly hateful place. Why? I think because its values trickle down from its owner. It doesn’t value safe spaces. It doesn’t value love. It doesn’t care about silencing hatred and ending violence. Free speech on X means free to hate and bully. I can’t even delete hateful comments. I can block people, but that would be a full-time job. It’s truly horrible there as a result. I bet 95% or more of comments on my posts are hateful.
Facebook, is less so, but we’ve learned from a whistleblower that Facebook’s owner values divisiveness and conflict because it draws our attention… like rubber-necking an accident… we have to look. It gets more attention and engagement and can sell more ads and make more money. So, Facebook puts my content in front of people it knows will abhor my work and make them comment on it. As a result, I have to spend huge amounts of time moderating the comments from hateful people that Facebook sends like Orcs into battle against me.
Then Instagram, also owned by Meta, is less hateful, because its value is to put content in front of people it thinks will like it. Sometimes it gets it wrong and I get a hateful comment there. But it is manageable. As long as Instagram maintains this value, and I hope it does, then we can continue trying to create a safe community there.
Some people say to me that I live in a bubble of a self-affirming echo chamber. Are you kidding me? They would not want to live in my world where I get mostly hate peppered with some encouragement and gratitude. And to me to not provide platforms for hate speech is an important task. Give them a platform and they will take advantage of it and make the world a terrible place (X). Limit it and you can build communities people feel safe to live in (Instagram). Please follow me on Instagram to experience it (@nakedpastor).
I also have an online community that I monitor very closely to facilitate community in as safe a space as possible, called The Lasting Supper. It’s a beautiful place. But it means establishing boundaries for it to be that way.
Happy Pride! Let’s keep building it, protecting it, and spreading it.
