Untitled - Sent to tumblr:

January 8, 2012

Edited: 1/14/2012

THIS POST IS BASICALLY EXPIRED.

There is a new post with updated information. Please see that post instead.

To Whom it May Concern,

I’m about to write an post, as well as a guest post to a well-known external blog about this, and if need be, I will submit it to my local news organization for review, and I need for you to understand that before I proceed. This is not something you will be able to explain away or cover up. There is already a blog post that is spreading across tumblr about this, so it’s not like no one is going to hear about it. It’s already out there. Your staff has made a mistake.

You recently removed a blog titled deathtoallwhitepeople from your servers. This is understandable, and was expected, as the entire reason it was created was to point out the hypocrisy in how certain users are well-treated at the expense of others. However, you appear to have missed all of the following blogs:

http://niggers.tumblr.com/post/15516686727/aw-my-first-hate-mail-this-is-so-cute

http://niggayoujustwentfullretard.tumblr.com/post/15314167553

http://niggersbeingniggers.tumblr.com/

http://fatniggers.tumblr.com/

http://theadventuresofniggers.tumblr.com/

http://itsrobertoniggas.tumblr.com/

http://niggayoujustwentfullretard.tumblr.com/post/14605588623

http://niggersandicecream.tumblr.com/

These blog titles are equally reprehensible, equally offensive, and violate your Terms of Service in the same way. I can’t imagine why they are all allowed to remain.

I also need to point out that the 1st Amendment protects private citizens against governmental censorship. It does not provide protections against the actions of a private company, like yours. You have the option — the power — to do something about this, to stop such hateful terms from being used against a group of people who are being harmed and oppressed by them. You’ve already chosen to use that power, and therein lies the hypocrisy: you didn’t protect the free speech of the person or persons who started the deathtoallwhitepeople blog, or protect other people of color from the death threats they reported to you.

In doing what you have done, you let all of the people who were involved, along with anyone who is reading and reblogging the related posts, know that you care for the so-called 1st Amendment rights of white persons, but none for the rights of people of color.

I am disgusted by your actions, and ask that you treat your members the same — that you remove blogs that use the word “nigger” in their title, and do not allow anyone to use it in their URLs in the future.

I look forward to your prompt response.

ETA :: Wow! I never expected the response this is getting. I need to, however, clear something up.

That list was meant only to be an example of how tumblr allows for certain offenses which harm its users who are POC, while the rest of its user base is well-treated. If you visit those blogs, and find that they should be reported, then by all means, do report them. However, if you find them to be innocuous, please let them be.

Again, it was meant to be an example, not a list of people to abhor.

credit: bakethatlinguist for finding those blogs

ETA, Pt. II :: It has come to my attention in recent days, that the creator of deathtoallwhite people, having been overwhelmed and inundated with submissions and asks, opted to delete the blog. This is good news, since it shows that tumblr has been honest in their response to me.

This does, however, not excuse the fact that death threats and hate speech have posted and sent to POC on a fairly regular basis, and continue to occur, with the “freedom of speech” excuse having been made by tumblr. Should screenshots become available to me, I will happily add them here on my blog. I must add here that I do not believe they should be required, unless tumblr requires them of the person who chooses to report it. I do not believe that PoC who are interested in telling their stories, and who receive such hatred in return, should be further insulted by telling them to “prove it”.

10:51pm | URL: http://tmblr.co/ZllBowEUsY3J

(Notes: 2,563)