Ravehellenic Games Some More: Consequences.

Please see my previous post in case you’ve just jumped in and you are confused.

Today one of the moderators of the Games posted this:

In light of rumblings going around and about re: our event, let’s recap:

• This event is about challenging ourselves in a big ole global knit-along as we celebrate the athletic wonders of olympic athletes. and an excuse to totally ignore daily life for 2 weeks as much as possible
• Everyone is welcome here. As long as you play nice, are polite and abide by Ravelry alls well. It’s when those lines are crossed it becomes a problem. Don’t believe anyone saying we’re banning people from participating – it’s not true
• We’ve always been a politics free zone. It lends itself to an environment where a widely diverse group of people all feel safe to play along and have fun. Politics tends towards disagreements, that in turn create stress and angst. Ravelry has plenty of other groups where debate and politics flourish-this isn’t one of them. We’ve asked teams to have threads in their home groups in order to allow for their freedom of expression and would never try to censor what goes on outside of this group. It’s just here we ask everyone to be respectful of each other, regardless of any differences.
• It is a requirement to:

be nice

have fun

get something finished during the duration of the games

ingest chocolate….lots of chocolate….. (or your favorite treat of choice)

 

Sigh, Recall when I said that they would simple cry some Straight People’s Tears in response to being called out. That’s what the beginning of them looks like.

This is the letter that I wrote in response to that post, which will be sent to each of the moderators as soon as I finish typing this because I’m me and I’m very much the type to take the fight to the problem.

Dear Ravhellenic Games Moderators,

I’d like to point some things out to you, because clearly you are confused as to why the decision of your moderation team has had consequences that you really should have seen coming.

Telling people they cannot talk about something that fundamentally defines them in public? That is not nice. Neither is it welcoming. It is, in fact, the opposite of both of those things.

It enforces the feelings of shame and otherness that members of the LGBTQ community have been forced to deal with for centuries. It puts us in a position wherein we must be constantly mindful of that otherness lest we violate a rule.

It is not OK on any level.

You are decidedly NOT a politics free zone if you are talking about the Olympics because, you know, that has politics. When a bunch of countries get together to do anything, politics is just naturally part of that.

Further, if a Muslim and a Jew were to do something epic and kind to each other, no one believes that you would prevent anyone from talking about why that matters in a the context of the social and political climate of the world on the main boards. Not one person believes that because it’s a laughable concept.

Religion, which is also extreme political is a fine topic. Social and political differences, which are the subject of at least half of every Olympic broadcast, are also totally acceptable topics.

You haven’t banned topics, plural. You banned one. Just one. Just homosexuality in any form.

And since we can all read the posts that were written previously, it does you no good to lie about it.

You could have easily just made the rule that there would be no debate allowed on the boards and left it at that. But that’s not what you did.

Instead you picked out a specific group that is actively being harmed by the host nation and told them and their allies that the only way they are allowed to participate is if they let you shove them back in the closet for the duration.

And you know what, I’m pretty sure I know why this happened. I speculate that someone or a few someones complained about something that was “too gay,” for their tiny little world view. Maybe they complained a couple of times or maybe they are friends with one or more of the mod team and, like most mods, you decided to grease the squeaky wheel rather than listen to it for weeks on end. I get that. Having been a mod myself I really do get it.

But your decision was wrong and it’s hurting people. Own that or change it but don’t complain about the consequences you caused.