kyleehenke:

Callout culture is fucking gross

I do think some people are truly dangerous and need to be warned about, but there are also many tumblr users getting called out for shit they’ve grown past/don’t do anymore/can’t be PROVEN, and there are people being called out for /opinions/ that, yes, may be less than tasteful, but aren’t actually attacking/being rude to anyone.

I’m sorry, but that is not grounds to encourage harassment. And that’s what you do when you make callout posts. You are warning the public, but you are also inviting harassment. It IS a side-effect you cannot control. You can permanently fuck up someone’s entire life and reputation, and sometimes on false charges! (Hey kids, remember xkit guy?) So you damn well better have a good reason for calling someone out before you put your accusations out in public and you damn well better do your fact-checking before you reblog such posts.

You know what you ought to try for a change, tumblr? When someone says something that puts you off, you ought to PM them and try and have a civilized talk about it. I have learned things this way, I have said and done things in the past that were ignorant and didn’t understand until people politely informed me and I saw what an idiot I was being. Believe it or not, this is a much more effective way to get people to become self-aware, and is a much better alternative to ruining someone’s entire life.

Where possible? Educate, don’t go full lynch mob. Believe it or not, many people mean well and will be receptive to learning. Callout posts should be used sparingly on people who are truly malicious and dangerous.