More Thoughts
So I read the apology, and for all its flaws (which people are, IMO, a little too quick to point out), it did make me feel better. It's a start, a move in the right direction that in my darker moments I fully expected would never come. I won't feel truly better until the Lolita discussion comm, pornish_pixies and the survivor comms are reinstated, and even then it'll take LJ a while to earn back the trust that was lost.
I think, for me, it's a bit different because I can fully imagine the hell that they were going through yesterday, scrambling to try to figure out what happened, and why, and how to fix it. I've worked in corporate settings enough to fully understand that a single day and a half is a very short amount of time to recognize that a collosal fuckup has occurred and actually take steps to rectify it. I've seen companies take months or years to even start moving on things that were genuine safety concerns or outright illegal.
That being said, LJ fucked up and fucked up badly, and I think they could have at least posted something quick like "eep, statement coming, please be patient". It wouldn't have pacified many people, but it would have at least indicated that they noticed that we were upset and gave a rat's ass.
I've continued to read (innocence_jihad certainly doesn't lack for reading material right now. It's hard to keep up, in fact) but I've read some things on both sides that truly disturb me.
And since comments were disabled in one of them, and I'm not sure I would have said this directly anyway, I want to talk about one of them in particular. Because what I read really filled me with horror.
It's been suggested by at least one person I know of that there really was justification in going after the fanfiction communities.
In fact, there is some support of that in the apology itself, though frankly I don't even know how to interpret the paragraph about promotion of paedophilia being thinly veiled under the guise of fiction. I don't know if he's referring to stories being written by paedophiles, where they pretend it's fictional to save their asses, or if he genuinely believes that writing a story about a paedophilic relationship is promotion of and support of such behaviour. I've never been to any of the paedophile communities which were quite rightly deleted, and I don't know how those people discuss their proclivities, or what measures they take to protect themselves. For all I know, they do write about it like it's fiction and it's hard to tell the difference. I just don't know.
But there has been a suggestion that because paedophiles might read a story about such relationships and get their rocks off, that the fiction writers should avoid such subjects. That they are wrong to write about such things, that they should be censored, and that they should shut the fuck up, because how dare they cry about their porn being deleted when real people are suffering.
...what?
I am absolutely outraged that real survivors of rape and incest were victimized during this witchhunt. Livid.
But I have also written porn, more specifically, I recently wrote a story where an older man (a villain in the story) molested a younger person. It was set around the time they first met in canon. It's unclear how old the young person was, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was 11 or so.
Frankly, I was nervous just writing it. It was the first time I'd ever pushed the envelope that far. But I think I handled it tastefully and did not sensationalize it. It was, I think, clear that I wasn't condoning the act. I was exploring the manipulation, the way that the older man victimized the younger one and made him think it was okay. I was exploring the vulnerability of the younger character.
I had more than one person compliment me for how accurate I was in the older man's tactics.
But now because someone I don't even know might have come across that story and whacked off to it, I'm promoting paedophilia? I should be banned for exploring this issue as well as I am capable of?
You know what, the fact is I'm not responsible for the reaction of a person who comes across my fiction. I will write what comes to me, and do it the best way I can. Regardless of what I do, some people will be squicked, some people will jerk off, some people will like it, and some will hate it. I have no way to control that except to censor myself and give in to fear.
I am an ethical person, and I find the idea of touching a child in such ways to be disgusting. Anyone who does something like what the character in my story did should be chemically (or physically, with a rusty hatchet) castrated and jailed for a good long time. Period.
I think that there are things that can and SHOULD be explored, and to lump those who explore touchy issues in ANY way with those people who actually commit such acts is a terrifying thing to even HINT at. It's indulging in fear, IMO. Just because I wouldn't hand out my porn at work - where it is inappropriate, of COURSE - doesn't mean that it's wrong to write and post in a public forum where it is accepted. And if I get flamed for the content, I won't whine and cry. They have a right to dislike my fic, I guess, but other people have the right to like it, and I have the right to write it and post it.
No, it's not a first amendment thing. LJ has the right to toss me out on my ear, if they choose to. It's their playground. But do NOT tell me I'm a fucking paedophile, WFI, and don't tell me that I should be ashamed of my porn, either, the rest of you. You can be ashamed if you want, and hide your smuttier writings for fear that someone might not approve.
I choose to be proud.
ETA And I note that pornish_pixies is back, and Mr. B has made a specific statement about what they're restoring, including all fandom and all fiction. That makes me very, very happy.
I think, for me, it's a bit different because I can fully imagine the hell that they were going through yesterday, scrambling to try to figure out what happened, and why, and how to fix it. I've worked in corporate settings enough to fully understand that a single day and a half is a very short amount of time to recognize that a collosal fuckup has occurred and actually take steps to rectify it. I've seen companies take months or years to even start moving on things that were genuine safety concerns or outright illegal.
That being said, LJ fucked up and fucked up badly, and I think they could have at least posted something quick like "eep, statement coming, please be patient". It wouldn't have pacified many people, but it would have at least indicated that they noticed that we were upset and gave a rat's ass.
I've continued to read (innocence_jihad certainly doesn't lack for reading material right now. It's hard to keep up, in fact) but I've read some things on both sides that truly disturb me.
And since comments were disabled in one of them, and I'm not sure I would have said this directly anyway, I want to talk about one of them in particular. Because what I read really filled me with horror.
It's been suggested by at least one person I know of that there really was justification in going after the fanfiction communities.
In fact, there is some support of that in the apology itself, though frankly I don't even know how to interpret the paragraph about promotion of paedophilia being thinly veiled under the guise of fiction. I don't know if he's referring to stories being written by paedophiles, where they pretend it's fictional to save their asses, or if he genuinely believes that writing a story about a paedophilic relationship is promotion of and support of such behaviour. I've never been to any of the paedophile communities which were quite rightly deleted, and I don't know how those people discuss their proclivities, or what measures they take to protect themselves. For all I know, they do write about it like it's fiction and it's hard to tell the difference. I just don't know.
But there has been a suggestion that because paedophiles might read a story about such relationships and get their rocks off, that the fiction writers should avoid such subjects. That they are wrong to write about such things, that they should be censored, and that they should shut the fuck up, because how dare they cry about their porn being deleted when real people are suffering.
...what?
I am absolutely outraged that real survivors of rape and incest were victimized during this witchhunt. Livid.
But I have also written porn, more specifically, I recently wrote a story where an older man (a villain in the story) molested a younger person. It was set around the time they first met in canon. It's unclear how old the young person was, but I wouldn't be surprised if he was 11 or so.
Frankly, I was nervous just writing it. It was the first time I'd ever pushed the envelope that far. But I think I handled it tastefully and did not sensationalize it. It was, I think, clear that I wasn't condoning the act. I was exploring the manipulation, the way that the older man victimized the younger one and made him think it was okay. I was exploring the vulnerability of the younger character.
I had more than one person compliment me for how accurate I was in the older man's tactics.
But now because someone I don't even know might have come across that story and whacked off to it, I'm promoting paedophilia? I should be banned for exploring this issue as well as I am capable of?
You know what, the fact is I'm not responsible for the reaction of a person who comes across my fiction. I will write what comes to me, and do it the best way I can. Regardless of what I do, some people will be squicked, some people will jerk off, some people will like it, and some will hate it. I have no way to control that except to censor myself and give in to fear.
I am an ethical person, and I find the idea of touching a child in such ways to be disgusting. Anyone who does something like what the character in my story did should be chemically (or physically, with a rusty hatchet) castrated and jailed for a good long time. Period.
I think that there are things that can and SHOULD be explored, and to lump those who explore touchy issues in ANY way with those people who actually commit such acts is a terrifying thing to even HINT at. It's indulging in fear, IMO. Just because I wouldn't hand out my porn at work - where it is inappropriate, of COURSE - doesn't mean that it's wrong to write and post in a public forum where it is accepted. And if I get flamed for the content, I won't whine and cry. They have a right to dislike my fic, I guess, but other people have the right to like it, and I have the right to write it and post it.
No, it's not a first amendment thing. LJ has the right to toss me out on my ear, if they choose to. It's their playground. But do NOT tell me I'm a fucking paedophile, WFI, and don't tell me that I should be ashamed of my porn, either, the rest of you. You can be ashamed if you want, and hide your smuttier writings for fear that someone might not approve.
I choose to be proud.
ETA And I note that pornish_pixies is back, and Mr. B has made a specific statement about what they're restoring, including all fandom and all fiction. That makes me very, very happy.