I have been an Anarchist for 20 years. When I was 16, cracking open my first philosophy books I would have never imagined a place like steemit. An actual test of anarchic principles linked to a non fiat currency that was generating enough income for some to live almost completely free of government. It never would have crossed my addled teenage mind that in my life I would see such a testing ground.
But if it had, if I had dared to dream such a crazy dream I can tell you that First in my mind would be the non aggression principle and ways to keep the peace, coexist in harmony and ostracize those extreme elements preaching violence and subdigation.
Now here we are. Living a fantastical reality.
However as with all things this dream of a space can be misused, co opted and used for evil. We are seeing the beginnings of this decent, the boundary is being tested as we speak. Regardless of your beliefs, if you stand for freedom and understand the weight that it carries then the recent attacks on the lgbt community tags here on steemit should concern you deeply. You should be helping moderate this situation and protecting the community as a whole.
So, here is the call. I am straight telling you members of the community are misusing the downvoting system to silence the lgbt community. I know that bigotry has entered the ranks of the ancap community small minded people who are not the representative of the whole but let me state clearly that I have already heard everything you want to say. I dont care, dont leave a comment, your not welcome. You are counter everything anarchy stands for and i honestly don't care about you. Go on with your life, this post isn't for you.
I am talking to the core of the ancap community. Strong thinking moral leaders that intellectually understand the importance of what i am saying and what i am asking. I knows these days its hard to remember, but ancap stands for inclusion, True Anarchy with room for every experiment and community monitoring. People looking out for and helping people not because there is a gun pointed at them but precisely because there is not a gun in the room. I am asking for this community to show up and lend a hand. Thanks for your time. Also, thanks to those of you already aware of all this and helping already, your on point and I love it!!!
Also just for fun.
Here's proof modern Anarchy is still edgy but stylish as hell.
Here's my current thoughts about the state, showing some gold ;-) :-)
Unfortunately, the public perception of Anarchists is a media-induced delusion of scruffy men throwing bombs, and of Libertarians as a bunch of closet homosexual dudebros on 4chan demanding their "right" to wave their penises in everyone else's faces. Even more unfortunately, the public perception is pretty accurate.
The thing yesterday scared me, not because I can't handle it, but because I've bled all over the streets of this country fighting for those who can't fight for themselves, and there comes a point where I'm too tired to stand alone against a mob trying to force its beliefs on everyone else. It's not that my posts were flagged, or even that one of yours was flagged into oblivion, it's the question it raises in a "minnow's" mind: Is it worth it? Not even in financial terms, although that is a consideration as well, but in terms of actually making a positive difference in the world. If I post something that matters to me and it gets flagged into oblivion by some hateful mob, why should I keep putting forth the effort?
Because the awful truth is, hate has won in this world. So many weep and wring their hands when the TV cameras are rolling, but nobody wants to do the hard things, and those of us who do are considered radicals and pariahs. They want me on the front line taking bullets for them but want me to go back in my box and be quiet until the next enemy stations an army at their front door.
We can change that. But it takes "we" as a community supporting one another. Because you better believe those who would harm us are absolutely united in their desire to do so.
I believe in the Non-Aggression Principle. I believe in voluntary association. It's a lot simpler to be honest and mean it than to perform all the mental gymnastics of statists to justify why I am entitled to the same "rights" I would deny to others. The ugly truth is most of us don't want equality; most of us want supremacy. Demanding equality with oppressors is not the same as resisting oppression.
For what it's worth, this life has made me cynical, but it's also made me powerful, and I have your back whenever possible.
Im getting ready for work and cant respond to this amazing post properly until tonight but i wanted to tell you im here too, i got you as well, and thats an army the likes of which this world has never seen🖤🦄🖤🦄i will give you the proper time when my day is over, much much love to you!!
Your post was the first for me hearing about downvoting of the LGBT tag here on Steemit. I'm glad I read your post, because I stand by you and support your message. I may not be a part of the LGBT community but I have friends who are and I love them dearly and am open -minded to the lifestyle.
I don't think there's room for prejudice, hatred or bigotry on a site such as this one and I hope that the issue is resolved.
Thank you very much, its extremely lovely to know you are here and are for inclusion. Thank you for taking the time to read my post. ;-)
Are you serious? People are downvoting posts using the LBGT tag? That shit is not ok!
Damnit, where is @berniesanders when we need him?
For the purpose of retaliation for some perceived slight. Doesn't really matter if my existence is abhorrent to some jackass on the other side of the world. We don't have to like each other or even respect each other to co-exist peacefully.
Love to you Steampunk Penny! We’ll get this problem under control. Hate has no place here or anywhere. Everyone deserves to be accepted for who they are.
I know several trans ancap individuals online now, all of whom are incredible people. I suspect the ancap/voluntaryists who are logically consistent are not downvoting the LGBT tag.
However, it is very important to note steemit is not 100% voluntaryist. There are a number of other individuals, ideologies, and concepts out on Steemit. Although we are more of a majority on this platform than others, that fact doesn't imply that some content providers a) have/do not have an inherent bias against the LGBT community, or b) that all members of steemit are ancap.
That said, it might not be the tag itself that is getting downvoted, but the content posted to it. So far, what I have seen with downvoting, and from my own usage of it, it tends to be used to express discontent with an individual's content, not their subgroup classification. This may be the core issue, and the emergent problem from it is the downvoting of a tag collectively.
Someone would need to analyse the content associated to that tag to see if the posts themselves are consistent and logical, and in line with voluntaryist principles. If they are, and they are getting downvoted, then the LGBT tag being the cause of the downvoting is highly plausible, and some logical arguments need to be put to those who are doing the downvoting itself.
However, if members of any group are making claims they deserve X more than other groups, because of their group status, that is collectivism, the antithesis of anarchocaptialism. Even I, as open minded & committed to spreading this philosophical view around as I am, would downvote such claims, regardless of the group they are part of.
One final point - Steemit has a very heavy following in the developing world, especially against that specific tag (from a cursory glance at the "hot" topics on it). This region is not as open to certain lifestyles being permissible, just as most individuals in society cannot comprehend life without the state.
My advice is to downvote responses or content which uses fallacious reasoning to justify any negative claims against that community. Use the tools to hand to help anarchically moderate opinion on the network. If most people agree with your concerns, then it will work.
So, we can start by assuming that i have already done and implemented the basics. Though thank you for recapping the proper way to use a down vote, its important to have a clear baseline.
That being said this is a call to action, not a philosophical problem of intent. They are already inappropriately downvoting all post assosisted with the tag, also side nott. It can be taken as a givin from here forward that when i say tag i do in fact mean the posts assosiated with the tag not the tag itself, i had thought that was apparent, i apologize for the miscommunication. Thank you for your time i will respond to you more in depth after i leave work, just wanted you to know i see you and appreciate you stopping in on my post, talk soon!😊😊😊🦄🖤👑
@anarchicwolf sorry it took me a bit to respond, its been a hectic week but I didn't want to leave this unanswered.
You make some good points. I think perhaps I should explain that I've been on steemit for more than a minute and I've been an Anarchist for twenty years. Theory is not something I lack. Putting theory into action is what this post is about. Also chiding the a cap community for its lack of interest in a very real problem. I do fully understand that the entire steemit universe is not wholely populated by ancapps or volenterist leaning people, I believe that's why its even more important to uphold the proper motivations and disincentives here on steemit, to show the planet how organized anarchy can work in actual spaces not just theoretical ones.
"However, if members of any group are making claims they deserve X more than other groups, because of their group status, that is collectivism, the antithesis of anarchocaptialism. Even I, as open minded & committed to spreading this philosophical view around as I am, would downvote such claims, regardless of the group they are part of."
You will need to explain what you are trying to say with this. It appears that its a mild rebuke towards the lgbtq community trying to establish itself as equal here on steemit, if that's the case we need to talk about that, I bring it up because there are a few points in your post that appear to be saying that I, an imputant trans women could never understand that some people don't agree with my right to exist so instead of trying to live and thrive I should just be quite because in fact I'm not equal and no one cares.
Now, I think that as an ancap I can give you the bennifit of the doubt and assume your just trying to reason out what happened to cause this post. I'm down with that and I will talk with you about it however you need to be aware moving forward that I am aware of advanced anarchic theory and how to put it into practice. Also be aware that this has been on going and well researched and documented as a continued problem that we are working to solve and all the math has been looked at.
They are not down voting my post about my last workout because its offensive, its tagged transgender, they openly hate trans people and so they down voted it. Its a misuse one time, its a misuse 80 times its just a misuse, regardless of the fact that they hate me there is no practical reason for that down vote except to silence the LGBT community I am not the only person this happens too, this is not the first time, and why on earth do you think I would bring it to the public fourm without confirming the basics of the situation. The manner in which I feel as though I'm being pandered too by some makes my point for me I think, its time to act not try to backseat drive and let others stand up on the moral high ground alone, that's not what anarchy is.
@steampunk-penny I'm not claiming that trans people have no right to exist, or are incapable of understanding, or are somehow inhuman/subhuman. Far from it. I consider the community as equal as any other member of society. As mentioned I know several ancap trans individuals, and consider them my equal at minimum WRT the topics I tend to comment on.
That said, the idea that any group deserves special treatment because of their grouping alone is collectivism. It is antithetical to the philosophy of individualism, which is what anarchocapitalism is based on. That implies that the group is more than equal to others in society and deserves special treatment, or privilege to use the collectivist terminology.
Your group identity should have no bearing on whether or not the content you provide has value, either to the community as a whole or to other individuals.
Now if the content is being downvoted solely because of the tag, you are making a fair and reasonable argument. I would say those doing the down-voting should be confronted, and made to think critically about the issue.
If, however, the content itself is making claims that are invalid, then the issue is more muddled. I haven't delved into your content much to be honest, as this was the first post from yourself that I saw. So, instead of making a presumption or assumption on anything discussed, I tried to demonstrate the framework of rationality I work from.
I cannot say what research you have done, or what reasons that those downvoting your content have for downvoting. I always work from the position that no research has been done, unless it is presented, and as no research was presented, I was forced to presume none was done. As you have clarified this, I will assume you are correct in your analysis, as you are more aware of the issue at hand.
I had no intent to offended you, nor was it an attempt to pander to either yourself or anyone else. I am simply a logically minded individual, and was expressing alternatives to the idea that the tag itself was equating to a downvote for those that used it.
You are correct to state that the tag should not be down-voted simply because of the tag. There should be no ambiguity on that. The content behind the tag is a different matter, but the tag itself should not warrant such activity.
However, it is important to be aware of whom is interacting with that tag. Are they from an Islamic culture, which treats such individuals as haram? Or an Christian African culture, where the laws against said community are draconian? From the cursory review I had when I first posted my comments, it looks to be skewed to those regions for comments and posts. That alone might explain the cause of the down-voting. If it does, then the ancap community would be limited in their ability to mitigate this. The reasoned arguments we would make will be coming into combat with religious ideologies, and like all dogmatic beliefs, logic takes a back seat to the writ religions are based on.
Thank you so much for your response, sorry I'm back on closing shifts at work and it makes my days all weird but when I get a minute to respond I will, just wanted to let you know I read it and liked it🦄🦄🦄