I am a member of Facebook, and it has been very nice for me to get to know many readers and other people from "here" through that medium. I also reconnected with several old friends, who searched on my name and found that I was still recognizable after many years. (I am particularly unimaginative when it comes to my hairstyle).
I have joined many interest groups and causes on Facebook: some for chronic pain, Syringomyelia, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (of course) and several others. These groups allow us to connect with people with similar differences, interests or with a common goal.
However, social networking is a double edged sword: In the same way that charities and other groups can get together to work towards a common good, there is also ample opportunity to form groups that condone and spread hatred. There is a Facebook group that is trying to get the company to remove groups that spread hatred against people with disabilities; physical, developmental, intellectual and
invisible. Here is a link if you want to check it out. You have to have a Facebook account to see it.
There is also a very interesting discussion on that board regarding language and semantics: Which words to use and which words are/are not offensive. I have been thinking about that all day and I realized what the most offensive word really is.
Surprise to say: It's not "retard".
And forget gimp, crip(ple), spaz, cretin, Mongol, moron, idiot, "slow", "handicapped", "special (needs)" and imbecile. OK most of these are not acceptable in general usage (and I feel quite sick having typed them all out like that) -especially when used by the able-bodied to reference a person with a disability. HOWEVER, there are some in the disability community who may use words like this to reference themselves or their peers, either ironically or descriptively. So a lot really depends on context and the intention behind the words. I do agree that the noun "retard" should be banned. There is no reason to use it. Ever.
But it is not the worst word out there. The really horrible word is this one:
Hate.
Put "I hate" or "we hate" in front of any of the words in my little list of horrors above, and you have yourself a good example of the kind of nastiness that is out there. The group I recently joined is doing a good job having many of these groups removed by reporting them to Facebook. But as of yet there is no Facebook policy to ban or prevent these kinds of hate groups before they form.
Now, some of the "hate" groups are actually very constructive: "We hate Cancer"; some are nice "I Hate Hate" or "I hate Intolerance"; some are fun: "I hate Big Brother", and some are supportive: "I Hate Spiders" Naturally, there are a lot of sports-related ones out there ("I bet I can find 1,000,000 people who hate Man. United"), and there are also some anti-(various) races or nations, anti-(various) religions, anti-gay and anti-(various) minority groups; which are not cool at all. "I hate faggots" has no reason to exist on a site like Facebook, which is trying to sell itself as a more sophisticated MySpace.
...And some of these groups are pure vile, like "I fucking hate retards" (that is actually the name of the group) This is the description:
Interestingly enough, this group was started by an Austrian. Welcome back, Adolf! We didn't miss you in the slightest. Now FUCK OFF.
I had another group all picked out, but I couldn't find it again. I had reported it to Facebook earlier, and I think maybe it was removed. Yay me!
So there is something we can do. Way down on the bottom right of every Facebook page there is a "report" link, where you can report a violation of Facebook terms, as Facebook claims it does not tolerate any attacks on a person or a group. And yes so many of these hate groups are allowed to exist and flourish just a few pages away from all the happy little "save the planet" applications. I have a problem with using Facebook now, knowing that it willingly, if passively harbors so much nastiness.
I have been criticized for my zeal on this issue, told to leave well enough alone. This is not my fight. But if it is not mine, whose is it? I am reminded of a poem about the Nazis:
First they came for the Communists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Communist.
Then they came for the Social Democrats,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Social Democrat.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists,
and I didn’t speak up,
because I wasn’t a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up,
because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me,
and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.
(attributed to Pastor Martin Neimoller)
The fight against Hate is everyone's fight. Let the haters congregate and spread evil elsewhere. If Facebook cannot or will not address this issue, then I for one will vote with my (electronic) feet, hang out elsewhere and leave Facebook to the haters.
