In the aftermath of the most recent school shooting, Lindsey Cornett at The Conversational Life shares a long list of quality books about gun violence, peace making, and learning how to disagree with people well.
Included in the list is the award-winning LOVING DISAGREEMENT by Kathy Khang and yours truly. If you haven’t read it, I legitimately do think the concepts in it are helpful during these fraught time… I know Kathy and I both feel it was a book that keeps reminding us to aim higher in our interactions with other people.
You can see Lindsey’s entire list here:
I’m looking at the art of Anastasia Trusova
I stumbled on Anastasia Trusova’s art this week. I find a lot of it so interesting and compelling and beautiful. You can see her site here.
I learned a new word this week: “fedposting”
I share a lot of immigration stories on my Facebook, and when a post goes viral I get a lot of gross comments after a while (nearly all of them from strangers). Some of them are race-based evil comments, but others are these weird, violent threats… against current politicians, ICE agents, etc.
I’m a pacifist myself, so I feel sad when I see this and typically either delete or hide those kinds of comments.
This week I saw this same thing happening on another person’s post and they just straight up said, “Hey, I don’t host fedposting here.”
Like a lot of slang, it turns out this is a pretty nuanced word with a few different meanings.
The surface meaning is something like this: “fedposting” is an accusation that someone is an undercover federal officer. The idea being that, say, an FBI agent is undercover, trying to get you to say or agree to something illegal in your comments.
But the more nuanced meaning (and what I’ve seen most often as I’m looking around for it) is that the whole “you’re a fed” piece of it is not 100 percent literal. It’s not a true accusation, because the person saying it’s a “fedpost” doesn’t care if the commenter is truly a fed.
Instead, what they’re pointing out is “this is a dangerous comment” or is a bad practice. They don’t have to say if they agree or disagree with the comment, what they’re pointing out is, “This is the kind of comment that doesn’t benefit anyone here; it’s the kind of comment that benefits authorities who are against the kind of social justice we are looking to create here.”
So, for instance:
* Threats of violence can be “fedposting” because threats of violence are used in online spaces as an excuse to shut a place down. Violent comments on a post could get the post throttled, deleted, or removed. Violent comments in an online community group could be used as an excuse to shut down a group. ILLEGAL violent comments could be used to arrest or harm members of the community who unwittingly agree to it… or are encouraged to say something similar.
* Asking anonymous fellow protestors to meet up or share their identities can be “fedposting” because it could be a way to out who is in a group.
* Inciting hate speech of any kind can be fedposting because — even if it’s not illegal — it makes the group look childish and unpleasant.
Interestingly, this slang actually comes from the far, far right side of the internet initially, and has gradually become a broader thing (I’ve seen a number of leftists using it as well).
The upshot?
Do not threaten violence on the internet, and don’t host comments from people who do.
Also don’t do any violence to people.
Best and most interesting article I read this week
Was this one about the Miccosukee people, the Native tribe that spearheaded the legal effort that led to a judge ordering the shuttering of the so-called “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades. It’s a super interesting read and there were multiple unexpected bits in there for me.
If you’re looking for more articles to read, here’s the latest at my OTHER substack, “These Stories”:
Some nature photography for your enjoyment
BRUCE
The seasons are changing around here, and you can tell by the leaves changing color or the fact that Bruce is a little more cuddly. He only sits in my lap during the fall or winter months and he’s asked to get into my lap twice in the last couple weeks. So get ready, fall is on the way.
Here’s hoping you can find someone to cuddle with as the days shorten and the nights get longer!
Peace to you,
Matt (and Bruce)
Thanks so much for sharing my post, Matt!
Fedposting is a TOTALLY new word for me, so I’m sure now I’ll see it everywhere. 😏
Also, Bruce is adorable.