Friday, May 13, 2005
Flaming Messages
Today I would like to write about something that happened to me. As some of you know, I participate in a basketball forum and now I am a moderator. As a moderator, I have not really done much, other than "lock" some threads that are repeated.
As a member of the forum, I have continued to participate as I did in the past. However, something very disturbing happened to me. I saw a picture that I perceived to be sexist. So I asked the person who had posted it if he would not mind changing the picture so that we could all lought at the same joke. The person who posted the message said that he was not going to change the picture because he did not find it to be agressive. Some men began to attack my point of view and I kept responding in a very educated, tolerant manner. A couple of guys said that, interestingly enough, I had been more tolerant and respectful than the guys who had attacked me. He also said that as a moderator, I could have deleted the picture, which I didn't do. Of course, it was NEVER my intention to delete the picture. Well, at that point, several men began to attack me, saying that they were tired of me, that I was intolerant. The worst post came from a person who,a mong many other things, attacked me for living in the US and for being married to an American. Following is the post:
Kuki: la "corrección política" que (creo) motiva tu overreaction me da náuseas. Evidentemente casarte con un nativo de allí took its toll... Y hasta escribo en esa mezcla de inglés y castellano (que no es Spanglish, eso es otra cosa), que tanto te gusta y que, por ejemplo, a un montón de gente le da por los huevos... inclusive a mí que puedo comprender y escribir inglés perfectamente, hasta slang.
This post reflects an example of flaming language that is usually used on the Web when men communicate with women. This is the second time that this has happened to me. Because I have seen (or read I should say), a bunch of men's postings attacking my for being a strong woman and for expressing my point of view. On top of that, I have seen that these men tend to interact nicely with flirtatious women, women who post "teasing" messages. That is not me. Not now, not never....in the past or in the women.
I hope that these exchanges don't take away from me the joy of watching basketball or of talking about basketball. What is clear is that I can't deal with people, or men I should say, who use the Web as a forum for attacking other people....I wished I had a thicker skin.... OK, it's time to move on and work on the things that really matters. Kuki
As a member of the forum, I have continued to participate as I did in the past. However, something very disturbing happened to me. I saw a picture that I perceived to be sexist. So I asked the person who had posted it if he would not mind changing the picture so that we could all lought at the same joke. The person who posted the message said that he was not going to change the picture because he did not find it to be agressive. Some men began to attack my point of view and I kept responding in a very educated, tolerant manner. A couple of guys said that, interestingly enough, I had been more tolerant and respectful than the guys who had attacked me. He also said that as a moderator, I could have deleted the picture, which I didn't do. Of course, it was NEVER my intention to delete the picture. Well, at that point, several men began to attack me, saying that they were tired of me, that I was intolerant. The worst post came from a person who,a mong many other things, attacked me for living in the US and for being married to an American. Following is the post:
Kuki: la "corrección política" que (creo) motiva tu overreaction me da náuseas. Evidentemente casarte con un nativo de allí took its toll... Y hasta escribo en esa mezcla de inglés y castellano (que no es Spanglish, eso es otra cosa), que tanto te gusta y que, por ejemplo, a un montón de gente le da por los huevos... inclusive a mí que puedo comprender y escribir inglés perfectamente, hasta slang.
This post reflects an example of flaming language that is usually used on the Web when men communicate with women. This is the second time that this has happened to me. Because I have seen (or read I should say), a bunch of men's postings attacking my for being a strong woman and for expressing my point of view. On top of that, I have seen that these men tend to interact nicely with flirtatious women, women who post "teasing" messages. That is not me. Not now, not never....in the past or in the women.
I hope that these exchanges don't take away from me the joy of watching basketball or of talking about basketball. What is clear is that I can't deal with people, or men I should say, who use the Web as a forum for attacking other people....I wished I had a thicker skin.... OK, it's time to move on and work on the things that really matters. Kuki
# posted by Kuki @ 12:22 AM 
