I guess considering the current direction this situation has taken, I'm only left to talk about it here.

So I'm sure plenty have heard the news regarding conversations that Fiddleafox has had on Discord. I first heard about it in a Discord server in reference to it on Twitter and my initial instinct remained the same as most anybody else that has been accused of transphobia, racism, etc.. I glanced at the information for a brief moment and then at some point stopped, concluding with the mindset of "waiting for more info to surface as time goes by."

I got a very valid response regarding ignoring obvious evidence and that Fiddle even admitted to what was done. Speaking of admittance...yeah, I can say that I still haven't looked much more on what was brought up, but I want to explain why I'm doing this. As I said before, I know of multiple cases where people have been cancelled, in which either such actions were taken out of context or it was simply made-up as a conspired attempt to destroy someone's reputation. Again, people tell me the evidence is there this time, but I struggle to believe it given how frequent this has happened and how for some reason NOBODY even blinks at the thought that they may have just ruined someone's life and ability to make money all because of words that have hurt someone.

Just recently I've found out cases where the damage of #CancelCulture dealt was fatal. One artist has reached a point where he went from being popular to making less than minimum wage drawing art, because of the hate crime of "transphobia". Another artist's brand was completely destroyed after accusations of not drawing a trans flag for a commission and not supporting Black Lives Matter. In the case with Fiddleafox, a tweet states in not using social media again, very likely alluding to Discord as well given that was where the drama started in the first place. I'm aware that there were a lot of accusations made that were very concerning, but I still have to wonder where this actually equates to "let's gang up and make sure this person never breathes without suffering at our hands for the pain that was dealt."

In regards to this equation, I am very well aware of times where that has more validity. Unjust trials in regards to blatantly obvious murder and rape, in which the key suspect goes home a free man...key examples being Casey Anthony, OJ Simpson, and the recent one being Bill Cosby; how do you think people end up responding following the riots over such heinous injustice? By remembering the face all too well in public streets, people come together to make sure that should-be criminal lives a hellish life from here on out. You can see that same tactic being used here and as I've said, there's a lot of sense to that.

Now with the scenario I just mentioned, you see how it's in regards to serious crimes, but it seems like the window of opportunities have broadened to where if a person says a number of offensive words, this is how they should be treated. But again I ask how such an offense EQUATES to this charge? Keep in mind I'm NOT trying to invalidate or undermine the damage done with the words that people like Fiddleafox use, but the amount of punishment just comes across as so harsh...that it's honestly no wonder WHY I'm more likely to lean to the defense of people like Fiddle.

As a person that values Christianity and conservatism, the topics in relation hit very closely because of the contention with the identity politics of today. I believe there are a LOT of issues that need to be addressed right here and now, but society just doesn't view our criticism as supportive for them as individuals. Yeah, it does oppose where we stand, but it doesn't mean we have some cryptic intent to oppress them. We just want people, regardless of their identity, to live the best life they can...but I'm getting a bit off-topic here.

I can tell that a lot of people like Fiddleafox have vastly different ways of communicating about these topics, but I feel like I really need to know them before writing them off as "yet another filthy racist" as one YouTube claims Fiddleafox to be. Furthermore, if I do suspect someone like Fiddle saying horrible things about someone, my first instinct shouldn't be to quietly hide from them and then post about what they said to the world.

Let me use this moment to talk about something big that I learned from the Bible. There is a portion of Scripture that alludes to how to handle church conflict. There's a process that is involved where if it is found of such conflict, the Church goes to the offender to address the issue in a remote place. If after many attempts when the offender definitively refuses to comply, the final call is to "treat them as you would a tax collector." Tax collectors were of the kind that were shunned by society for being crooked, in which it APPEARS that this passage of Scripture is supporting the mistreatment of such an offender. The REALITY is almost the opposite, because as you the reader that holds Christian values and recognizes how Jesus actually had conversations with a tax collector, what you realize is that your role is to, while the offender is taken out of the church, to still talk with them and lead them BACK to the right place morally.

"Does #CancelCulture REALLY even come close to mimicking such practices?" I guess I'm kind of asking rhetorically. Honestly it just doesn't seem as such considering how ongoing the assault gets even following the cancellation. Certainly the Scriptures seem to present the fact that people are still encouraged to socially engage with offenders, which doesn't involve throwing blow after blow of harsh criticism. One more thing I will add for the sake of people...kinda like me...is that it's still okay to disassociate with such an offender. Us humans are either equipped as fighters or flighters and sometimes people of the latter just need to distance from the offender instead of interacting with them, for mental stability-sake. Just be aware that staying in your chosen mindset is expected so that you don't get caught with the way our society is, and that's by using your fears to manipulate the way you treat the offender.

But yeah, I'm sorry if any of this causes any problems, but I just feel like something needs to be said that's not parroting what thousands already have said. I know that I likely can't fix anything from what just happened, but I think future incidents of a similar kind 1000% need to be approached differently. I can't with a clear conscience support the mass if what I see from the mass is them hurting one person from the inside-out. If we really represent as moral superiors, how can we then justify the current state of #CancelCulture as the replacement for true moral justice? No human is perfect in the first place, so realistically speaking #CancelCulture is apparently allowed to go after anyone, as those that are...imperfect. What sense does that really make?

I dunno, but that's about as much as I can say about all this. I think my issue that leads me to ignore evidence provided is that I don't want any of that to cloud my stance on social issues. Information tends to change rapidly while still remaining emotionally charged, so I try to avoid that in order to focus on what I know about how things should be addressed socially. I'll let other people handle the evidence while I handle how people approached things and how they should have improved. I think that's the best way to describe how I am on these controversial topics.

So yeah, a lot to read here, but I hope that this is helpful in some way. As usual, not sure if I'll respond, but I appreciate the feedback. Thanks for hearing me out!