Tag Archives: pazithigallifreya

In regards to your reblog about popular tumblr blogs. There have also been deeply unsettling instances that are like online lynchings. Where a blogger just says “btw, I’ve talked on private with that blog and it turns out they are a p*******e. y’all know what to do.” And then days later, even though there aren’t any concrete proofs or it was just an exaggeration, that person ends up deleting their blog. Imagine holding that much authority that you ruin part of someone’s life.

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[this post, OP is @pazithigallifreya]

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Yep, it IS deeply unsettling to think about how someone’s life could be ruined over a false accusation. There’s something intoxicating about saying you’ve found a monster and want to rally ppl to your cause to go destroy it. That’s been around since long before the internet and will go on in whatever form of communication people have available, whether the monster is a real one or not.

“btw, I’ve talked on private with that blog and it turns out they are a p*******e. y’all know what to do.” 

^I feel terrible saying this, but I couldn’t trust this person at face value. Maybe if it was a very close friend, but even then, I wouldn’t mobilize ppl online to attack the accused person. I’m not a police officer, I would probably tell that victim to go to the police. The police have the tools to find the accused, the time and training to build the evidence properly and legally.

Keep in mind, too, that tweets/chats/etc. can be digitally manipulated, like this tweet (although it could be real for all I know, but I would hope not):

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Then there’s the thornier matter of people who ARE guilty of offenses, from the small to the large. There are abusers out there who trawl for prey. There are also people who wrote something in the past that they may have apologized for and definitely deeply regret. 

I’ve certainly made mistakes and written cruel things I would take back if I could. I can’t apologize enough or genuinely enough for how I’ve hurt people. 

[Imagine holding that much authority that you ruin part of someone’s life.]

…And so often they end up with a rabble ready to crucify anyone who doesn’t do as they are told, and that’s when I really run for the hills…


^I’m of the belief that no individual online should have that kind of power, this is why we have a legal system which determines guilt and punishments fairly. No judicial system is perfect but it has to be better than some stranger online telling a mob to pick up torches and pitchforks to attack another stranger online. 

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i-want-my-iwtv:

pazithigallifreya:

There’s this… phenomenon… I’ve witnessed in several fandoms, where a particular blog gets really popular within a fandom.

And suddenly that blog will start getting people literally asking them for permission to hold certain opinions. I don’t mean someone just asking “hey can I get your feelings/opinions on this subject” but “is it okay if I think/do xyz?” like some child asking their parent if they can go somewhere.

Worse, is when these blogs start taking these questions seriously and feeding them answers. Like they suddenly start believing that they truly have this authority. I mean it’s bad enough when people do this and the blogger is just like “well I have my own opinion but don’t ask me” but when they start to actually act like they can tell other people what they are “allowed” to do.

This I the creepiest fucking thing on tumblr I swear.

Why would you give some random stranger on the internet that much power over your mind? Why would you be so afraid of forming your own opinions that you have to ask someone else to give you opinions to hold?

And so often they end up with a rabble ready to crucify anyone who doesn’t do as they are told, and that’s when I really run for the hills…

It probably looks a little egotistical to reblog this post, as someone who relates to having the “particular blog gets really popular within a fandom,” but I deeply agree with this post from both sides. It has been suggested to me privately that my opinions hold sway over people and I have a responsibility to answer a certain way so that the other fans aren’t led astray, that they are so gullible that they take my every word as fact. I sincerely hope that this is not the case.

I refuse this responsibility bc that’s not the kind of blog I want to have. I don’t want anyone taking my opinions as an authority, or the Law of the Land or whatever… *~popularity~* shouldn’t give me any more authority than anyone else! 

Please don’t feel like you have to literally ask anyone for permission to hold certain opinions. I’m happy to share my ideas, but they are only my ideas. I’m a random stranger on the internet! I love my followers, the interactions we’ve had, the messages you’ve sent me publicly and privately over the past few years have kept my blog alive, and I can’t thank you enough for that ❤ 

But! If I can just paraphrase from the above, Do not give some random stranger on the internet that much power over your mind! Don’t be so afraid of forming your own opinions that you have to ask someone else to give you opinions to hold! 

Please do not become part of some random stranger on the internet’s rabble ready to crucify anyone who doesn’t do as they are told! 

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pazithigallifreya:

There’s this… phenomenon… I’ve witnessed in several fandoms, where a particular blog gets really popular within a fandom.

And suddenly that blog will start getting people literally asking them for permission to hold certain opinions. I don’t mean someone just asking “hey can I get your feelings/opinions on this subject” but “is it okay if I think/do xyz?” like some child asking their parent if they can go somewhere.

Worse, is when these blogs start taking these questions seriously and feeding them answers. Like they suddenly start believing that they truly have this authority. I mean it’s bad enough when people do this and the blogger is just like “well I have my own opinion but don’t ask me” but when they start to actually act like they can tell other people what they are “allowed” to do.

This I the creepiest fucking thing on tumblr I swear.

Why would you give some random stranger on the internet that much power over your mind? Why would you be so afraid of forming your own opinions that you have to ask someone else to give you opinions to hold?

And so often they end up with a rabble ready to crucify anyone who doesn’t do as they are told, and that’s when I really run for the hills…

It probably looks a little egotistical to reblog this post, as someone who relates to having the “particular blog gets really popular within a fandom,” but I deeply agree with this post from both sides. It has been suggested to me privately that my opinions hold sway over people and I have a responsibility to answer a certain way so that the other fans aren’t led astray, that they are so gullible that they take my every word as fact. I sincerely hope that this is not the case.

I refuse this responsibility bc that’s not the kind of blog I want to have. I don’t want anyone taking my opinions as an authority, or the Law of the Land or whatever… *~popularity~* shouldn’t give me any more authority than anyone else! 

Please don’t feel like you have to literally ask anyone for permission to hold certain opinions. I’m happy to share my ideas, but they are only my ideas. I’m a random stranger on the internet! I love my followers, the interactions we’ve had, the messages you’ve sent me publicly and privately over the past few years have kept my blog alive, and I can’t thank you enough for that ❤ 

But! If I can just paraphrase from the above, Do not give some random stranger on the internet that much power over your mind! Don’t be so afraid of forming your own opinions that you have to ask someone else to give you opinions to hold! 

Please do not become part of some random stranger on the internet’s rabble ready to crucify anyone who doesn’t do as they are told!