Tuesday, February 11, 2014

Tribalism and Cliques

You find them everywhere.
I am a member of a photo group. I, and at least two others, were making some memes similar to a Tumblr thread. This has been going on for close to 2 years.

Suddenly, a new member of the group decided to thump his chest, accuse me of bullying and harassment. Someone who wasn't in the photos, and had nothing to do with it, even when explained to him that the subject of the photos found them funny, and I had proof of that.

Then suddenly, two more jumped onto his soap box, calling me a bully.  Then it gets better. Two out of the three who contributed to the photo memes were reported for bullying and harassment. Just two of us, and we were banned/blocked from posting for a half day, the third contributor had nothing said against her.

Now, I have to say right out that there were at least two dozen people who were shocked at the banning, and tried to explain it to the finger pointers that it wasn't bullying, that the subject wasn't offended or bullied.  Did that stop them? Nope.

Even after I deleted (odd that, i couldn't post, but I could purge) one of the accusers who publicly accused me of being a bully/harasser delivered to me by via Private message, a left handed apology designed to assuage his self righteous accusations, rather than actually contrite.

Now, some might wonder why being mis-labeled as a bully, or just being falsely accused of something bothered me so much.

I would have to take you down through a trip to memory lane;  when as a newly imported to Connecticut Texan, while at grammar school, had my mouth slash open by a local CT resident, and when brought into principals office, the local kid said I called him a word I'd never heard of, so that justified his snapping me in the mouth with his book band (rubber cord with hooks on both ends) and I got (by what's called assault in todays standards) paddled, all the while the little bastard that lied was smirking.

That set the tone for my entire school life, through grade school, Jr high and High School
.
12 years of being bullied in school, having my hair torn out of my head, set on fire (have scar on my cheek from it, still) stolen from, assaulted, until I fought back, breaking two noses.
So yes, being falsely accused bothers me. Add falsely accusing me of being a bully.. do the math.

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