UK weapons laws....

Honestly vaysh, I think you've misread this, I didn't remember your sexuality being mentioned and I doubt others do, or care, MAP is very definitely against any form of prejudice or discrimination. We have a number of openly gay members, including Mods, and will not tolerate any discrimination against them.

I can assure you that nothing you've said warrants any kind of ban, and I don't believe anyone is deliberately trying to derail your thread.

 

Listen, we really need to get this thread back on topic, so I feel bad speaking off topic. but I feel a need to. And because accusations were made on here publicly, I feel a need to respond the same way.

Vaysh, First, know where I am coming from. I have always been open about being a lesbian on MAP. I am also, in case you didn't notice, a moderator on here. I was offered the moderator position with everyone knowing I am a lesbian. I have been out in all aspects of my life for over 30 years now. I was very active in my local GLBT scene for many years in my youth. I was involved in the local GLBT historical society, serving on the board even. And Act-Up. Volunteered for our GLBT Parade/ Festival weekends. And I have been on MAP a decent amount of time.

I would suggest you browse MAP more before making such accusation against Dead Pool or the atmosphere on MAP. In threads where homophobic content has surfaced, he has always been one of the most outspoken supporters of the GLBT community's rights and called out homophobic statements -or even statements that are not very GLBT friendly in our various political threads. He has been a supporter when discussions of political topics have come up- like Trump's policies towards GLBT people. He has also often been one of the first to "like" my various statements speaking out about homophobia and supporting GLBT rights. Go to his profile and browse his posts and mine to see for yourself that this is true.

He does have a style of posting that can be a bit abrupt or argumentative at times, but that really is just the posting style in general. It isn't directed at you. Again, check the history of posting all over MAP.

Furthermore, the homophobia that has surfaced on here has been rare, and our TOS not allowing bigotry in any form has always been something I noticed the MOD team has enforced, even before I was a part of it. I remember one such incident when I was new on MAP. One of the moderators PM'd me to check to see how I felt about a borderline post. I had told him that I didn't feel it had crossed the line bad enough to report. Also that I saw responding to it as a chance to educate future members to the issues that the GLBT community faced. I was assured that if I felt harassed or picked on that I should contact this mod or any other and they would take care of it. This mod made a point to reach out to me when he didn't need to- to make sure I felt welcome as a lesbian member.

When one person has said something, maybe even just borderline not in support of GLBT rights or the community, I have always felt so heartened to see the one person responded to with an outpouring of support by a waves of members here. Again, do a little more reading on here to see.

Now, as this often comes up in political topics, there can be various interpretations of what homophobia is. You will see a few questionable things. This happens with all political topics here. But I certainly would not be active on here, much less a moderator, if this was a non-GLBT friendly place.

I personally believe that we in minority groups have a responsibility to not throw around accusations too easily. It is like the boy who cried wolf. We need to save our calling it out for when it is is clearly the case. Not just "I don't like the way this is going, it must be homophobic in origin." Because when accusations of bigotry are thrown around too lightly, it makes people take it less seriously. And we have enough real serious issues that need to be addressed. We need our voices heard.

And IMO, we need to cherish and appreciate our friends and allies. And there are many on here. IMO - Dead Pool is one of our allies. The VAST majority of regular members on here are as well. And that includes the mod team and the list owners past and present.

If you, or anyone else, wishes to talk about what I said further, I do want this thread to get back on track, so please feel free to PM me.

 

The law can often seem like an ass, but it's still the law.

Sites like the one I linked are really the only ones that count.