LJ Strikeout '07: Support Freedom of Expression!

[ladybrighid3333_archive]

Ok...so sorry if you've all seen this all over your friends list, but compiling two different "action plans". I'm sorry, but i'm screening comments and logging IPs. >>; you will have to wait till your comment shows up.



roaring's compiled a listing of some of the facts,which link to more facts, etc., of what's going on, mostly in relation to the fandom people getting hit by this.
Click the banner above to see that.

this was taken from rosesatmidnight for the same program on a more personal standpoiont, though I edited it for my own words at the end. For the original go take action!
1. Change the end greeting to your username
2 You can tweak the last paragraph so it's yours.
3. Spread it to your friends list by posting it to your own journal or linking here.
4. Also feel free to comment here with the textbox at the bottom of this entry.

Change your user name, personalize your comments in the last paragraph, and email this to privacy@livejournal.com and post it to your journal or profile.

Dear LJ:

I was quite appalled to hear about your mass-deletion of communities and journals with what you deemed as 'triggering' interests. Some of us have survived Rape. Some of us have survived abuse. And some of us wish to speak up and help others. How can we do that if you're taking away what we use to help those in need?

Have you even researched this "Warriors For Innocence"? Now what about the countless others who will not benefit from this deletion? What about the countless molesters who will now be driven further underground?

What about the countless members who have survived abuse, who have survived rape, and are now, finally, proud to stand up and say that they have... only for LJ to tell them that they can't?

Now what will we do? Now what source will we have to share our stories and our knowledge with others, now that your once-valuable source has been so ruthlessly and thoughtlessly taken away?

You were once one of the voices that helped make us strong as a united front.

And now your silence in the fight deafens me. Your silence speaks volumes, as much now as it will ever speak. Your silence is like a slap in the face to those of us who have survived the rape, survived the abuse, and are now, or will soon, learn to stand again, learn to live again, learn to function again.

As the friend of several people who have survived abuse and rape, I, personally, hope that you never experience it. And if that does happen, I hope that this very same silence never crosses your path.

Respectfully,
ladybrighid3333

Edit: Or if you feel uncomfortable sending it. Fill in, Copy and paste the text in the text box below into a comment here.

<b>Name/Alias:</b> <b>Journal name:</b> <b>Location(optional):</b> <b>Comment(optional):</b>

Comments

[minviendha.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Lise/Minviendha
Journal name: minviendha
Location(optional): Seattle
Comment(optional): Thanks for deleting communities with nothing to do with real life. Look to the real world, LJ.

[exhero.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Lisa
Journal name: undeadmiko
Location(optional): Las Vegas, Nevada
Comment(optional): Good job livejournal... Good job.

[deepsense-remix.livejournal.com]

hi, i sent in a letter. :3

[cinderella81.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Becky
Journal name: cinderella81
Location(optional): Huntington Beach, California
Comment(optional): There are many people out there today who had their communities and personal journals deleted for no apparent reason ... Some people have those particular words in their interests because they are survivors! Those who are really a threat have now gone underground and into hiding, thanks to your actions.

Thanks for this post

[boybychemistry.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: EJ
Journal name: boybychemistry
Location(optional): Italy

[bachiko.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Grace/Bachiko
Journal name: bachiko
Location(optional): London
Comment(optional): Not only am I disgusted by the deletion of journals and communities that in no way condone any illegal behaviour or even promote it but I am shocked that we have been given no explanation of what is occurring. More so, there was no prior warning to the suspensions/deletions of what is or is not acceptable to have listed as interests. You have now invited the wrath of fandom, lj. I fear for you.

[mondaisenshi.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Hannah / Mondai Senshi
Journal name: mondaisenshi
Location(optional): New York, USA
Comment(optional):
Livejournal has been my home away from home for the past year or so. It's a place where I can make friends with whom I can truly connect. I look upon Livejournal and the communities therein as a safe haven, to truly express myself, to share the fruits of my creative labor. It's not fair that a prude so-called "organization" takes that all away from the countless members being banned and the countless more whose favorite community no longer exists. If they cannot trust their children online, or if they cannot supervise their children, they should simply filter the offending web sites. Furthermore, even if you do remove all offending accounts, which may be nearly impossible considering the unrealistic standards being enforced, more will only be made to replace them. Anyway, if what I read is true, and you are concerned about what advertisers will think, it cannot help if your website loses half of its visitors due to being banned.
If you want to keep this site friendly for children, maybe you could enforce a rating system, instead, and block the more graphic communities and journals from younger members and guests. I believe that this approach would be just as effective, without enraging members, free and paid accounts, alike.

Please, please stop closing accounts and communities. They mean a lot to me.

[immaturity.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Carina
Journal name: immaturity
Location(optional): USA
Comment(optional): You honestly kind of disgust me.

[vollykins.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: volly
Journal name: vollykins
Location(optional): united states

[quidditchkiss.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Becky
Journal name: quidditchkiss
Location(optional): North Carolina
Comment(optional): Stop bending to the pressure, and think about your customers FIRST. I respect your actions on weeding out the ACTUAL users/communities that promoted ACTUAL rape/abuse/incest/pedophilia/etc. But the MAJORITY of your 13,000,000 million strong are FANDOM-RELATED users/communities. This is unfair, and we won't stand for it. We have the RIGHT to say what we want.

[alienchrist.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: haru
Journal name: theboyharuka
Location(optional): Seattle, WA
Comment(optional): I've been a moderator of a successful community for abuse survivors (aptly called abusesurvivor for several years, elected by the last moderator of the community. Personally, I find this crusade against "triggering" material misguided and a bit disgusting. This won't change anything. It won't make the world any safer from rape or child abuse. All it's doing is upsetting the safety a lot of people mistakenly believed they had to express themselves.

If anything, the fear of a mass deletion of a safe community with thousands of members is a lot more triggering than fanfiction that's properly labeled and only posted for the enjoyment of others who like it.

There is no correlation between fanfiction and sex crimes. There's never even been a test. To respond to pressure by mass-deletion is very disappointing. I realize that since it's a private service you can get rid of anyone you like, but that doesn't make it tasteful or right. Shame on you for buckling like this, LJ.

[devannmalfoy.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Devann
Journal name: devannmalfoy
Location(optional): Indiana, USA
Comment(optional): Although I in no way condone pedophilia or rape of any kind, deleting harmless fandom LJs is not the way to go about preventing it. We all have freedom of speech and put up the appropriate warnings for what we write. We are NOT condoning these things in real life. It is just a work of fiction, like ALL the disclaimers say. All you've done is driven the people you were really trying to stop further underground and made a lot of people on LJ angry.

[medli.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Medli
Journal name: shattere
Location(optional): USA
Comment(optional): Wow. This is a complete shock. Some of the LJ journals and communities that are being deleted don't deserve it. Some are losing lots of hard work put into each journal and community. I hope this stops soon.

[amazonmandy.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias:AmazonMandy
Journal name: AmazonMandy
Location(optional): USA
Comment(optional):
I can't believe LJ just immediately bowed to the whims of this WOI group without expressing concerns to all LJ users, investigating, or getting feedback first. Instead of reviewing these journals and turning in the REAL predators, you've erased all traceable evidence and erased years of emotion and effort by other innocent people, and victims of predators. SHAME ON YOU.

If this continues at all, I will be pulling my paid account. This is terrible.

[lunarwhirl.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Butterfly
Journal name: [Bad username or site: @ livejournal.com]
Location(optional): CA
Comment(optional): As a survivor of rape, I find it appalling that you choose to delete communities that even list such things in their interests, such as the rape survivor support community I was a part of until recently, especially without warning. I ask that you not give in to this latest wave of attempted censorship, especially as these sorts of groups shall continue to exist no matter what. All you are doing is sending innocent people into anger and fear of being censored, and making it easier for the real criminals to hide, as this latest rash action has only served to warn them.

[ecoerrante.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Sockattack
Journal name: sockattack
Location(optional): Texas
Comment(optional): Dude...Some of us have survived sexual abuse. And now your saying we can't say anything about it. Not only does that hurt the victims of the ACTUAL acts, it gives the perpetrators of the crimes warning to go running underground. All I can really say is...You messed up. Big time, so step up and take responsibility for you actions.

[solar-cat.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: SolarCat
Journal name: solar_cat05
Location(optional): Michigan
Comment(optional): I'm sure anything I could say here has already been said; probably by many who are much more eloquent than I could ever hope to be. Still, whoever was truly responsible for the mass deletions, whether it turns out to be WfI or LJ Abuse going overboard, I think it's absolutely disgraceful. LJ Abuse, at least, should show better discretion. Everyone here fully supports LJ's efforts to keep real pedophiles from harming children. But everyone here could also tell you that it's pretty easy to tell when a journal or community is based on purely fictional characters and events. I'm disappointed, and angry, that this has happened to our communities and our friends.

[elevation.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Kayla
Journal name: articque
Location(optional): Colorado
Comment(optional): Please explain to your users what's going on and what you're doing about it.

[megoomba.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Megzie
Journal name: megoomba
Location(optional): Wisconsin
Comment(optional): I'm all for going after predators and people who would actually harm children, but this is just ludicrous. If you really want to fight child molestation, then you should be on the streets getting your hands dirty rather than hiding behind a computer screen, basking in your own self-righteous bullshit and harrassing innocent people who are doing nothing more activities like writing, drawing or discussing fictional characters. You may not like it, but it is harmless. Its not real. 99.999999% of the people who create or enjoy such things wouldn't even dream of actually harming a child. That's the difference between fiction and reality. The real predators are out there, in the real world, not here in LJ-land.
Many people, myself included, use LJ as a way to find our voices and express ourselves. This whole fiasco has got me worried to say the least. First you indiscriminately start deleting journals for reasons that have nothing to do with what you're actually trying to do, what's next? This is a slippery slope you're on, LJ. I hope you can make it right soon.

[baladeur.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Jenny.
Journal name: baladeur.
Location(optional): Malta, in the Mediterranean.
Comment(optional): I can basically only repeat what everyone before me has said, but not point accusing fingers at fandom or fiction in trying to suppress disgusting criminal behaviour. Leave the writers out of this. Abandon the McCarthy-esque witch hunt and stop giving the real criminals time to hide. I have been an LJer for almost five years now, and I've always associated this website a way of defining freedom of expression. Don't ruin it for me, and every other LJer out there.

[superdork37.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Sara
Journal name: superdork37
Location(optional): New York
Comment(optional): As most people have said, I agree with what you are trying to do, but you should have looked a little deeper before suspending communities and journals that were not actually supporting pedophilia.

[spadix.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Alysia
Journal name: spadix
Location(optional): Toronto
Comment(optional): I have been with livejournal since 2001. And never before this have I been ashamed to be apart of it. Now I am.

[devourer.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Kira
Journal name: devourer
Location(optional): Canada
Comment(optional): Just because you read fictional stuff, does not make you a pedo. So, does that mean reading a novel that has pedo in it makes you a pedo? I think not, I rest my case.

unbelievable

[elizabeth-welsh.livejournal.com]

During the punk witch hunts, I remember this story that really blew my mind. The Dead Kennedys were being persecuted for the content of their songs by a group of people who had not even bothered to read the lyrics, let alone listen to a song. One particular song mentioned during the congressional hearing was referred to as "Nazi Punks". Jello Biaffra took the congressman, who was in the middle of a diatribe about what the nazis, really were to task. "Why don't you read the rest of the title?" He asked. The song was actually called "Nazi Punks F*** Off!"

This "housecleaning" feels a little like that. Too busy to actually investigate -- LJ seems to have jumped the gun a bit. First homosexuality does not equal pedofilia. Statistically, pedofiles are less likely to be homosexual, since pedofiles are more interested in control than anything else. It would be reasonable to ask members to refrain from writing certain story lines in posted fictions. It would be reasonable to create a separate area for adult content, or limit the posting of adult content to "friends-only" journals. It would be reasonable to suggest that members properly list their interests. I doubt very much if any pedofiles are posting anything that suggests what they are -- usually they are crafty enough to list things that interest children and draw them in, doing so in a seemingly benign way. Ask any cop. If they are stupid enough to say, "I like to f*** children in their bio, they are likely to spend their lives trying not to drop the soap. For those who are trying to recover from something colossally bad that happened in their past, I would suggest "rape-recovery" or "incest-recovery".

Acknowledging the existence of incest does not make a person want to go out and try it. How many people remember the best selling series by V.C. Andrews that had an incestuous relationship running throughout? The first book, "Flowers in the Attic" was followed by "Petals on the Wind" and so on. Eventually Cathy and Chris pretended to be married, raising her children as husband and wife, rather than sister and brother. A prequel revealed that their parents were actually half-brother/sister, but didn't know until it was too late. I read the whole thing, cried over parts, understood the motivations of each in extraordinary circumstances, but never once wanted to go out and hump any of my three brothers.

Censorship is rarely a good idea. In truth, it often has the opposite effect from what is desired. Telling someone that something is taboo and must not be discussed, is usually a great way to get everyone talking. Just look at the results here.

Back to catching pedofiles, there are far better ways to do that than targetting "catch" words. Internet watch groups have had fabulous success by engaging the psychos, rather than telling them to go away. I'm a mother, and the idea that a psycho might someday prey on my son is my worst nightmare. That said, I'd rather have them locked away, than to hear stuff like "we're deleting accounts to be safe". That is the lamest excuse for protecting our children that I have ever encountered.

[fayevalentine00.livejournal.com]

Name/Alias: Sarah Houck/FayeValentine00
Journal name: FayeValentineoo is a drama queen
Location(optional): Wasilla, AK
Comment(optional): As a fan fic reader/writer and a survivor of rape and abuse, I COMPLETELY disagree with what you are trying to do. Banning innocent fan fiction sites and innocent people's personal journals without any cause and WITHOUT ANY PUBLIC STATEMENT. It is wrong.. It is a witch hunt and I am appalled that you have yet to make a statement. Please do so ASAP and reinstate the journals!