welp

I guess here it is: I no longer think that social media is something I am interested in having. I made a bluesky account purely to announce new blogs and I added a mailing list to do the same on this blog’s landing page. I’m gonna delete all my other socials come February 28th. I’m not interested in allowing Zuck to profit from me and the ads he pushes. I’m not interested in allowing state run media into my life.

I am heartbroken about the loss of TikTok. It allowed me to find a community where it felt safe to explore my sexuality and ultimately helped me realize that I am a lesbian. It helped me learn things that I otherwise would have been blind to. It helped me explore new worlds, as it suggested new media to me. It helped me plan a beautiful trip for me and my best friends to go on to Europe. It helped me in so many more ways.

I know it’s not fully gone, but you should know that it will become a shell of the app that it once was.

The ban was never about China and safeguarding our info. This ban is about acquiring an app that is used to organize movements, to censor what we are allowed to see, and to promote the interests of the US. It will likely sell to Meta, or some American company, but at that point, it’s going to lose its value. Trump “saving” TikTok is basically a way for him to garner sympathy like the Reagan/Carter hostage release. I’m disgusted at what’s happening and I have such little energy to fight what is coming, but I would be remiss if I didn’t say something.

What is happening in this country is a nightmare and I am furious. We are spiraling toward a dictatorship and I’m scared for what is next. A lot of things happening have a very similar playbook to a certain mustachioed fascist. I am so upset that this world will be worse off when I leave it. Already horrible things are happening/being planned and it’s been hours since the inauguration.

I’m scared for my loved ones that aren’t safe in this world. My transgender loves, my visibly gay friends, my chosen family who are different in ethnicity than me, my disabled angels, and so many more will be impacted by this new administration and its laws. I’m scared to see and experience what’s coming. It’s utterly terrifying.

I don’t have much to say about the ways we can recover. I wish I knew what to do.

All I know is to be gentle to yourself and kind to others. So that’s what I’m trying to implement.