Even though Ms. Lauren Southern probably wouldn't approve of
the spirit of this message, I feel compelled to write it anyway.
the spirit of this message, I feel compelled to write it anyway.
I'm contemplating whether the pain and suffering and anguish I
personally experienced as a result of being cut off from Ms. Lauren
Southern's news posts, hedgehog pictures, and encouragement for 24
grueling hours is grounds for a class action lawsuit at this time. The
reason why is very simple.
reason why is very simple.
Today I feel I've suffered due to the actions of Facebook, and that
I've undergone needless pain and suffering caused entirely by the bad
faith Facebook appears to have shown by apparently failing to honor
their agreement with me, with Lauren, with Disdain For Plebs and
Facebook's other users.
Had I known Facebook would so flagrantly disregard its own stated
policies, standards, and terms, I'd never have signed up for a free
user account I set up specifically to follow posts from Lauren
Southern, her friends, and the people she recommends to give comfort to
people who'd otherwise believe nothing is being done on their behalf.
I would never have emotionally invested in an online relationship of
ANY kind, even as a fan while I'm in such an emotionally fragile state
had I known a rich and powerful company would threaten to pull the plug
on someone with the courage to tell the truth about Facebook's actions.
There's very good reason why I follow profiles of people like Lauren
Southern, far beyond her fabulous good looks, sense of style, beautiful
smile, charming eyes, and incredible hair. Something that doesn't exist
and to my knowledge, is not common among hedgehog owners.
In the very recent past, I think I've demonstrated my fear and distrust
of certain figures of power and authority, including the transit police
officer who recently called me to investigate Ms. Southern's
disappearance.
Just as I thought he would, treated me like a suspect. He harassed and
interrogated me with several attempts to obtain personally identifying
information and made efforts to compromise the anonymous nature of my
report.
I just wanted to give him a description of a suspicious person, and was
treated like a criminal. Just because I tried to help. Like any decent
human being would.
human being would.
In any other circumstances, I could have gone onto Facebook to tell Ms.
Southern about this aggressive and hostile authority figure. But this
was not one of those times.
Today's events reminded me of this emotionally traumatic and
distressing disappearance.
A disappearance which happened on the same day I received news that I
was about to lose a very close loved one.
Facebook's reckless and callous actions today reminded me of how easily
I can be cut off from the few who care enough to comfort other in their
moment of grief.
[edit: I'm very sorry for any lapses of clarity here. I'm obviously under the strain of emotionally crippling distress]
To showcase the bravery of those who risk their livelihoods to speak on
behalf of those who can't afford to risk the food in their children's
mouths by challenging a rich man's opinions.
Thank goodness I've had advantages others have lost. I still have a
loving, supportive family, including those who've fallen terminally
ill. Thanks to Facebook, they've been cut off from a source of comfort,
too.
To unplug a person from their friends is awful thing to do. You may as
well have locked them into a room by themselves.
It's a punishment equivalent to solitary confinement. Worse, actually.
Does Facebook seek to deny us our daily hour of sunshine, fresh air,
and interaction that's offered even to hardened convicted criminals?
Disdain for Plebs and Lauren Southern and their teams, friends, and
associates tirelessly labor, often at their own expense, even at
profound personal and professional sacrifice, to provide me and
thousands of others with a precious lifeline of unique and otherwise
unavailable information, photos, and modicum of acknowledgement you
wouldn't deny a dog in the street.
These may just be buttons to pump up profits to a rich man, but these
precious binary signals are food for the soul. A guide to how someone
feels about you.
When someone like Lauren clicks that button, I swell up with pride. I
brag to my friends. I announce the event. I mark the calendar. I scroll
back through my notifications to find it again, just to make sure it
was real.
It means I've somehow done something right. That the day wasn't wasted.
It feels almost like a pat on the back. For some, I'd imagine, it's
closest thing to a kind touch they'll get.
It's something to strive for. Something to hope for. Something to work
toward. It sets a person off on a path of self-improvement and self-
discovery, to learn how to intelligently contribute to the conversation
in some way.
But Facebook wants to yank away that tether from people.
If I did the same to a dog, I could be incarcerated for criminal
neglect.
If you disconnect a dog from the person they rely on for thirty days,
you'll return to find a house full of flies.
When I thought I'd lost Lauren to the notorious SkyTrain sex bandit,
who was arrested and then released after allegedly groping and
attacking an innocent women just days before Lauren's sudden
disappearance from Facebook and Twitter, I felt understandably
distraught, I think.
When I couldn't find anybody who knew if she was okay, I broke my usual
policy of keeping a distance, and broke the unwritten rules.
I looked for signs that she might still be alive.
looked up the hospitals where she may have been medically evacuated to,
perhaps on the bus which appeared to have been diverted just minutes
after her call for help went out over Twitter and her phone went dead.
What comes next is difficult and embarrassing to have to admit.
By a strange coincidence, this traumatic event in my life, my own
personal 9/11 happened to me on the same day the doctor told my family
that we'd almost certainly be losing the closest, dearest, most beloved
person in my life in just a matter of weeks.
I believe this shocking set of events spurred me to violate my own
personal code of conduct. Like someone breaking the glass to grab a
fire extinguisher, I reluctantly reached out
As I sat by her bed today, watching her try to maintain consciousness,
I received the awful and shocking news that Facebook had unplugged
someone who'd done absolutely nothing wrong.
Lauren has become something of a hero of mine. A rare symbol of courage
and compassion and the tradition of family. Some may find those things
offensive.
and compassion and the tradition of family. Some may find those things
offensive.
People with unimaginable levels of power and wealth who wield their
technology as a weapon above the heads of the innocent.
I was reminded of the moment when Lauren was very nearly physically
assaulted by the Prime Minister of Canada. If recent events are any
sign, I was right to fear he'd strike another woman.
So the deluge of concerned emails I'm sure she's receives from other
traumatized fans like me should be entered into a some sort of public
record, in my opinion.
Without the help of international lawyers, I feel powerless to
determine how to proceed to file a complaint against the company that's
caused my distress.
If Facebook acted in "bad faith", or whatever the legal term is, and
caused a day of terror for anyone else by denying them access to the
journalism, information, and cute pictures of hedgehogs we need to calm
our nerves in these dangerous times, to know that some champion of the
people is still fighting for our freedom from fear, then I hope they
will stand up and be counted.
FYI I'm a sensitive and vulnerable person in a delicate state, due to
the terminal illnesses in my family, and impending loss of loved ones,
so please forgive the emotional nature of this message.
Ms. Southern, please forgive me for being so much of a fan, and for
taking Facebook at their word that I could rely and depending on the
lifeline of the comfort your non-offensive posts provide me to ease my
tremendous and growing grief.
I know that I'm supposed to start take more personal responsibility for
my actions and feelings and outcomes, just like Lauren Southern is
trying to teach us and remind us daily to do, but until she's able to
communicate that message uninterrupted on social media, and until her
friends and colleagues are left in peace to calm our jets, I'm left
with the almost irrational impulse to blame Facebook for causing my
pain, anguish, suffering, and emotional trauma.
Writing this has taken tremendous effort on so little sleep. I need to
go back to comforting myself with an even larger dose of fatty, salty,
high-cholesterol food after all that's happened, and try to disregard
the twinge of pain in my chest.
If I don't make it, at least I can die knowing Lauren's back on
Facebook again for her friends, for her family, and even for her fans.
I have the privilege and honor of knowing Ms. Lauren Southern well
enough to know pretty damn well she wouldn't agree with me saying this,
due to her political views, and might even equate me with a toddler for
saying it, but...
I don't think turning off my computer or closing my account can undo
the emotional and physical and medical damage done to my arteries
today, nor can it erase the memory of what Facebook just did to me.
Yes, I think I'll survive, but I don't know how to explain why I've been
pulled away from my beloved grandmother's death bed in her final days to
write this letter in honor of the men in her family who sacrificed so
much and risked their lives for my right to say it.
Today, on #ArmedForcesDay, I write this simple letter honor the
sacrifice of all the men and women in all our families who fought for
our right to say unpopular things that rich, powerful men don't always
like us saying.
And every year, when I go to visit my grandmother's final resting
place, I'll remember it as the day Facebook chose to use their powerful
platform to spit on their graves.
Fair Use
Fair Use
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