this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2024

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Admin collaboration and liberal coup (lemmy.blahaj.zone)

submitted 3 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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kittenzrulz claims that the takeover of this community was entirely over links getting burned out. this post would appear to contradict that.

furthermore, they completely disregarded my points in the questions i asked, particularly around the ideological motive around the changes they made when giving feedback, and failed to respond when i pushed them on the point, despite posting elsewhere.

i would argue that both the mod of this community, and the admin of the instance, are hostile to anarchist and leftist politics, and cannot be trusted. recommend finding a new instance.

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[–] [email protected] 22 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (4 children)

Every single person I've interacted with trying to preach the wonders of soulism has been controlling and belligerent towards other leftists and trans people.

Starting with DRONERIGHTS/PM_ME_FAT_ENBIES and ending (hopefully) with Mindgoblin and Grail.

I engaged with grail in good faith at first over soulism but at this point I'm wholly convinced that the philosophy where one can simply decide that someone else isn't human probably isn't the best because every single person slinging it has left me with a horrible experience.

[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I engaged with grail in good faith at first over soulism but at this point I'm wholly convinced that the philosophy where one can simply decide that someone else isn't human probably isn't the best because every single person slinging it has left me with a horrible experience.

Doing a quick skim through claimed tenants, it does indeed appear that way. If I'm reading it correctly, the philosophy claims that objective reality is an unjust hierarchy... following that absurd line further, it means that everything is subjective and mutable at the whim of a given individual (is it anyone or just those who are more anti-realist than others?). So, social contract then also becomes mutable at an individual's whim, etc. Seems like it rhymes heavily with right-wing "post-truth communities".

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

It's an "off compass" meme ideology.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Soulists do not believe in social contract theory. The social contract was invented by Enlightenment philosopher John Locke, the "father of liberalism". Locke was a capitalist. Soulists are anarchists. We don't like liberals.

When it comes to Soulists, you're more likely to find utilitarians among our ranks. We punch Nazis not because Nazis violate the social contract, but because Nazis threaten to bring genocide and war. While a social contract theorist would happily deal with a Nazi who was polite, well-mannered, and followed all the rules, a Soulist would not. A Soulist would pull out the baseball bat and tell the Nazi to get the fuck out, no matter how well the Nazi follows the social contract.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (9 children)

Clearly not what happens in practice though given the events that've transpired over the past weeks caused by a soulist forcing their reality of support for liberalism/the party of polite fascists.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Soulists do not believe in social contract theory. The social contract was invented by Enlightenment philosopher John Locke, the "father of liberalism". Locke was a capitalist. Soulists are anarchists. We don't like liberals.

I do have some philosophical disagreement there. I'm roughly an anarcho-syndicalist by ideology but don't believe in the plausibility of an anarchic society in my lifetime. Tools of the oppressors can still have value. Social contract, at least as nomenclature, is a very useful tool for describing and theorizing around social cohesion in a non-hierarchical society. In order for humans to coexist in a mutually beneficial manner, they need to agree on "constants" that can be deemed objective. Without this, there can be an "impedence mismatch", to draw an analogy from electronics, that can cause undue strife because of a lack of agreement on ethical basics. "Social Contract" can be a useful term/concept for describing this, even if not agreeing with the content of it proposed by liberals.

...While a social contract theorist would happily deal with a Nazi who was polite, well-mannered, and followed all the rules, a Soulist would not.

Here, I'd disagree with scoping. I think that you have put all who use Social Contract in the group of (neo)liberalism. I do not find this accurate. As I stated earlier, it is useful as a tool for describing basic ethical "constants" to enable social cohesion.

A Soulist would pull out the baseball bat and tell the Nazi to get the fuck out, no matter how well the Nazi follows the social contract.

Under an anarchic "Social Contract", that would be the correct action. Those wishing to enforce unjust social hierarchies, inflict suffering sadistically, and commit mass murder would be violating "Social Contract" (not just under most forms of anarchism).

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 3 months ago

I'm very glad link seems to be doing alright though if his tumblr is anything to go off of.

Even if he never sees this, I wish him the very best.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago

It's really funny to me how a group that claims to believe reality is entirely subjective and that people should have the freedom to shape it as they choose are really insistent that everyone follow their exact system of beliefs.

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[–] [email protected] 14 points 3 months ago

I don't know the current mod of this community well enough to speak on that but I can most certainly tell you that Ada (the instance admin) is not actively trying to be hostile to anarchist and leftist politics.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (26 children)

The post you linked to by MindTraveller is an active misrepresentation of events.

Traveller and I are not "in agreement" about much of anything. Their politics are very far removed from mine

This is the text of the message I sent advising that I was shutting the group down.

After consideration, I’ve decided that non voters does not really fit the stated goals of blahaj zone. Your motives for creating it seem based on a personal vendetta, and whilst your views are genuine, nothing constructive comes from the community. All it does is create division, because its sole purpose is to target others, without really focusing on any progressive ideas or discussion of its own.

At the moment, it’s causing more harm than good to the overall community.

I’ll leave the community open, so that if you choose to set the community up on another instance, you will have the opportunity to direct them to the new location.

Given the post which you linked, (which I had not seen until now) I will be removing Traveller and the new community, because once more, the goal appears to be to create division

My goal of blahaj zone is not political. The goal is to allow trans people to have a space where they can exist on their own terms, without having to pretend to be someone they're not. My own political views are closer to Links/LibertyHub than nonvoters or its ilk. Yet as long as there is no bigotry or gatekeeping, then trans people with politics at odds with my own are welcome. It's why we have an "armed queers" community, despite my own strong distaste for gun culture.

Communities/posters that exist primary to create division, without adding anything positive back, have no place here.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

well thank you for clarifying and doing this much, i guess. but frankly this hasn’t been a safe place, none of this situation has been okay and i’m extremely not comfortable with grail’s behaviour as well. i’ve moved to hexbear despite my political differences with them and they’re honestly creating a far safer and more welcoming space for me as an anarchist and trans person. like seriously sort this place out if you want it to be safe for trans people. it currently is not.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago (1 children)

like seriously sort this place out if you want it to be safe for trans people. it currently is not.

Hexbear is only safe for trans folks whose politics don't clash too strongly with theirs. They have a whole community dedicated to dunking on folk who disagree with them, and that includes trans folk. If you step too far from what they deem acceptable, harassing and dogpiling is seen as an acceptable response.

Many of the trans folks on blahaj zone, despite being left aligned, would be deemed to be "libs" by Hexbear, and actively harassed until they left.

If you think that it's ok that the majority of folk on this instance (well, the majority of trans folk anywhere to be honest) are valid targets for harassment, I don't know what to tell you other than we have very different ideas of what trans safety looks like.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

I've seen you repeat this three times now and I don't understand why you feel the need to exaggerate so heavily.

You can look the posts up, they're in the first ten pages of the top year posts (i.e. since hexbear started federation with other instances). Or don't, and you can continue scaring people away from from a place that aggressively moderates to keep its trans users away from bad actors at the first sign of trouble.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

To the best of my knowledge, the dunk tank is still there, which is a community centered around harassment of "libs". Unless the admins have stepped in to remove that community, then my comment still stands.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Your original comment does not stand but okay.

I just hope next time a DRONERIGHTS or midtraveler comes along you'll act quicker

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

Can hope but it's doubtful at this point

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago (7 children)

Those statements are misleading. hexbears routinely break and bend their own dunk tank rules when they feel salty enough.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

You're the best Ada thanks for everything!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 3 months ago

Thank you for allowing armedqweers to exist here Ada.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 3 months ago (1 children)

When I hear "My goal of blahaj zone is not political," I hear "I want my group to have no immune system so that fascism can insidiously sneak in past our noses."

[–] [email protected] 10 points 3 months ago (1 children)

If I said "politics has no place on blahaj zone" that would be a fair accusation.

But politics explicitly has a place on blahaj zone, precisely because of the impact it has on the lives our community. It needs to be talked about. Politics has a place here, because it has to have a place here. But it's not the primary reason the space exists.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Your goal for the entire site is non-political. Being a safe space for trans people is a political goal, intrinsically, in my opinion. Do you have a wildly different definition of "political" than the one I'm using?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (2 children)

Your goal for the entire site is non-political.

We are a left leaning instance that is explicitly welcoming of political discussion, and home to several communities focused on politics.

You are mistakenly conflating the fact that we don't center politics with the idea that we're trying to avoid it.

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

It is not my experience that the admins are hostile to anarchist, Ada has been supportive of my efforts related to the [email protected] community I started.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

i hope that continues to be the case. but i have absolutely no faith in this instance anymore i'm afraid.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 3 months ago

Yea honestly I've never seen Ada handle any situation in a way that I find distasteful. From what I can tell they definitely lean anarchist and have explicitly stated that they support anarchist communities on this instance.

This isn't an anarchist instance though. They aren't going to ban people or whatever for having opinions they don't agree with.

I think the situation with MindTraveller could have been handled better, but there's no easy way to decide when and how to censor people like that.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 3 months ago

Thanks for linking another anarchist comm for me to subscribe to <3

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago

...huh? Im srry but this post just makes no sense at all?

in the first paragraph u say that the linked post contradicts that LOC left for being burnt out but that post doesn't mention anything relevant to that

and on the last paragraph you say the mods of this community and the admins of this instance r hostile to anarchism and leftist politics which... is the opposite of what has always been the case?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 3 months ago (4 children)

Might have a new queer leftist community soon, presumably on db0. I've just gotten back from a trip but I've been in touch with someone interested in it, I'll drop a post if there's any news.

I'd also echo some of the other sentiments, I don't think the instance mods are problematic especially Ada who has been supportive as far as I've seen, but kittenzrulz clearly should never have been given control over the community.

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