The Unturned community, for many years, has had an intense issue with bigotry flooding community spaces and very very little has been done to address or handle the situation at all. This speaks to a clear lack of understanding amongst the community on how this issues propagate. I am going to speak very plainly and say: Taking a neutral stance against this issue (IE: Not addressing it, Ignoring it, Leaving it to the community to self regulate) is siding with the bigots. There is no way to have a community safe for minority groups, ESP on the queer side of things, if Nazis and Bigots also feel comfortable. These groups can not coexist and attempting to make a community where everyone (including these Bigots) are ““welcome”” is creating a space for the bigots and literally no one else. Ally groups don’t wanna brush shoulders with bigots, and minority certainly don’t either.
This problem has existed in the unturned space for so long that its a damn miracle I’m even here to type this post right now due to the sheer level of harassment and hatred I have faced in my many years in this community. The people who act out and further push such hateful ideology (knowingly and unknowingly) are still here today popping up whenever I dare show my face. Take a look at my previous posts for example, every single time people crop up or even make new accounts just to try to shut me down. I am making this post now to not only bring light to this problem, but offer the one of the only true solutions to this and the reasoning for why.
So let’s start with something that is extremely important to this subject matter:
Neutrality does not work when handling modern day bigotry due to its discreet nature.
The Advent of the internet changed how nazi-ism spreads and how hatred blooms in group spaces. The average person isn’t a bigot and will see obvious examples of hatred, thats why in the modern day hatred has to spread through a more Subtextal nature. You can’t really say “I hate Trans people” because its obvious hatred, so bigots take a different route; a route that will be obvious to any queer people reading this since, if you’re anything like me, you hear it daily.
“”“Resonable Concern”“” such as “I don’t think it should be allowed in front of children” “this conversation is irrelevant” etc
You can’t just be a bigot outright anymore, people got smart and crack down on it, it all spreads through subtext and implication. “I’m not transphobic but I don’t think kids should transition” is literally an example of someone saying something transphobic, but they beat around the bush to avoid being silenced. Bigots have to make up shit about the groups they hate and convince us its all true for their ideals to spread. For example: How many of you knew that Trans Women get period cramps? or that the idea of their being more than 2 genders has existed for hundreds of years? How many of you knew that the Nazi Book burnings during the second world war erased a large section of queer history? These ideals spread through lack of education and pure misinformation.
This method of beating around the bush is how this issues grow in community spaces, you leave a bigot problem unaddressed and slowly the whole community becomes bigots! This happened here in the unturned space a long time ago and has only gotten worse. Why would I, A Queer Woman, want to spend any of my time posting to a forum where someone can imply the most heinous shit about people like me and not get a permanent ban for it? The lack on concrete action on this problem has worsened it and made this community absolutely toxic for anyone that isn’t a bigot themself or OK with being pals with one (which makes them also a bigot, cause again, neutrality is a stance)
This problem needs to be addressed, and it needs to be addressed directly, publicly, and with no punches pulled. Bigotry is not a “difference of opinion” it is hatred, and letting hatred spread is the last thing we should be doing. We are in the year 2023 but I can still come to this forum and see rampant anger and disgust at the mere suggestion that gay people exist. That speaks to an absolute failing on the part of moderators across this site and the community at large.
Further reading on the subject that I implore you to check out:
Alt-Right Playbook: How to Radicalize a Normie
Media Manipulation and Disinformation Online
The Ship of Theseus
I sincerely hope things improve, because they have to.