Today I got silenced.

Today I got silenced. It was really uncomfortable. 

If you know me at all (or have been following my blog for any period of time in the last 37 days) you should know that I try to stay positive. I'm trying really hard to be positive right now. I have daily tried to make a blurb about something good, something uplifting or bright, be it silly (like earrings and fashion) or serious (like fat shaming) but keeping it with a positive spin (haters gonna hate, but I'm gonna keep on dancing). 

Today I mentioned the mass shootings. I mentioned them even less on TA than I did here in the blog. I'd put exactly what I said, but I didn't think to save it. Suffice to say, it was very generalized. It got taken down at 4:47pm. I know the exact time as I was replying to a comment about as my post disappeared. 

While I didn't say much in my post, the comments section did. Most of it was "We agree, something needs to change. Contact your representatives." While political, that's blanket political. I didn't say "We should ban guns" or "Take away the guns" or anything like that. I said something along the lines of, "We need to effect change. The only way to prevent this from happening again to to contact your representatives and tell them it needs to change." 

Apparently that blanket statement was just TOO MUCH for some people who then reported my post. (YES, this next part is an assumption, but I'm ANGRY and I'm going to stereotype for a second. I'm human too.) Likely most of the people who reported me are also members of the NRA, DAR, Conservative side of the Republican Party or just hate immigrants and think the shooter was in the right. It's an assumption, but they're the types likely to do that type of thing in the first place. 

Most people didn't say anything except, "Hey, you're right. This is wrong." However, TA got too many complaints (I guess there's a special number that a post has to hit before it's removed) and they had to remove my post.

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Because apparently expression the opinion that KILLING PEOPLE is wrong was just TOO political. Because HUMAN BEING BEING SHOT AND MURDERED has no place in a "page about shoes". Because expressing grief about innocent lives being lost due to a (generalized description of a) lack of gun control and mental health access is just TOO MUCH apparently. 

Why? Because it made people uncomfortable. Because they came to talk about shoes and fashion and everything frivolous. They came to show off their church outfits (religion is also banned, but that doesn't stop people from posting about going to church!). 

But you know - that fashion and those tieks mean NOTHING if you get shot down in the middle of church. They mean NOTHING if you get fired one day and have a mental health breakdown the next and no insurance to get yourself help, because the services available to people in this country are LACKING. Still....I get it. It was removed. Okay. 

I was fine at this point. People suck, reported it as offensive, but ok. I understand. It was political (more so in the comments than in my post) but ok. I get it. Why not delete the offensive comments and turn off comments then? Why delete the ENTIRE POST??

So I posted my post again - with less - simply eliminating the stuff about the shooting because *sigh* we can't have that now can we!? It got taken down. (I later found out it was because I referenced that my first post was removed. Stupid rule to have, and not one mentioned in the official rule page either.) 

Posted a third time. Removed. Posted a fourth time, eliminating comments, eliminating every but a description of my OOTD and the description for anyone using an e-reader. THAT one got to stay. However, had I not disabled the comments, they'd have likely removed it too, as people would have continued to drop comments about how it was unfair that my other post got removed do to expressing an opinion about the shootings. Which is BS.

The admin of the page messaged me and said in a very polite PR way (that's why she's good at her job), but I also believe very genuine, why it got removed and cited politics and people reporting me because they don't care about the shootings. She basically said (and I'm seriously paraphrasing) "Your heart's in the right place, but we can't teach people how to be humane. I'm with you but people suck, we had to take it down." I told her that I'd try to be good but no promises as I'm passionate about human rights and well, a lot of other things. 

I didn't like being silenced. I've had enough of that in the past from self regulating what I say so that I don't offend people to hiding my emotions from an abusive ex so he didn't have ammunition to use against me. I refuse to be silenced and honestly I'd still be going at it if they hadn't allowed my last post to stay up. I will NOT be silenced.

Unless it's of my own accord. 

I might silence myself to protest all the people who reported me, to protest humans being abused at the borders, to protest the lack of gun control in this country, the lack of regulations, the lack of freaking HUMANITY and EMPATHY for fellow mankind. I might silence myself to represent those who cannot speak for themselves, and those who aren't strong enough to speak up.

I doth protest.

Every day of this coming week, I plan to post here what I normally do. Words and all. In the TA group, I will be posting my normal post, commentary that I feel like sharing there (there's always more here) and then disabling comments. In effect, it's a way to protest being silenced by silencing myself. By silencing everyone else's opinions. By silencing them back. 

Because we shouldn't have to silence ourselves in times of crisis because it might be political or religious and might offend someone. Because people have now DIED going shopping at Wal-Mart in the last 24 hours and we should be shouting out loud until we change laws that make that impossible. We have been SCREAMING since Columbine and we're still nowhere. How many people have to die? How is it that we still don't care unless it's someone we know and love?

You shouldn't be afraid to go to the movies, a concert, shopping at the mall, or even school. We should be safe doing these things. We're NOT. 

There's no excuse for silencing that. Group rules I understand, but what happened was a tragedy. That's not political - that's an issue of humanity. That's having empathy for your fellow mankind. That's being a person who actually cares. I'm ANGRY that this has to happen again and again and again, and people now are saying "well, it's political so shhhh. You might offend someone." 

Fuck. Them. 

If they're offended, they need to look inward and realize why. There are things you should be offended about.  

You should be offended that the kids and adults are being locked up at the border. 

You should be offended that semi-automatic (hell FULL automatic) rifles are ridiculously easy to get. 

You SHOULD be offended at the disturbing lack of healthcare in this country for our weakest members of society, let alone mental healthcare is pitiful. 

You SHOULD be offended by these things and if you aren't, it's likely that you don't want to look that deeply at yourself. That you don't want to put yourself in those shoes, because it's so much easier to say "That'll never happen to me" than to address it. 

But guess what? IT CAN happen to you. In the snap of a finger it can happen to you. It did to me a few times. My life has drastically changed, essentially in a month or less, about six times in my 37 years. *SNAP*

 What's happening right now in this country in particular shouldn't be happening. Period. You can deflect that it shouldn't be happening in any part of the world and I agree, it shouldn't, but I'm talking about here and now and what WE can change in OUR country. And the fact that we're making it about politics is asinine. Other major countries have regulations and their mass shootings are FAR less than ours. Don't tell me it can't be done. It can. Register to vote people. Vote the policies in. Vote the NRA out of congress.

 It's an issue about humanity and I will not be silenced for expressing that. We aren't treating our fellow human beings as they should be treated. Period. And it's not right that people get silenced for stating such. No matter the group.

Don't cross me. You won't like the results. I'm like Fred:

You've been warned.

ETA: If you can speak up for someone who can't, you should. Period.