Twitter is great, really. We can have so many great conversations and learn about all these issues. It’s a really important platform, for the magazine and for us as individuals. But sometimes it can feel like we keep rehashing the same conversations, like some of us are standing outside an echo chamber and listening in. And when some of the issues most important to us get ignored, or glossed over, we can feel erased. So we decided to write this open letter, hoping that we can start some conversations we feel like are missing.
Dear Twitter,
Us humans tend to be rather unaware to what it is you are dealing with. Take a glass for example, if you didn’t know it was glass you may treat it rougher and possibly break it. Until it’s sharp broken pieces are spread out, and the loud shatter catches your attention. Only if you had knowledge that the glass could break so easily, maybe you would’ve handled it better. How may one handle something as serious as mental health better? Learn from my mistakes. The world will never have peace, people will never be fully fed and yes, I won’t ever be good enough. But I’m learning to coax with it.
Sincerely,
Jessie Graham (@jesssgraham)
Dear Twitter,
Why label yourself educated and inclusive on all social issues if you almost entirely refuse to acknowledge the trans community? You’ll mention them around once a year in RTing one Tweet, or mentioning a single event regarding one binary trans famous person; never non-binary or non-famous trans people who struggle every day (every trans person does). When you feel like criticising Caitlyn Jenner, pointing out the actions of trans people suits you. What about the actions against the trans community? What about the great things that are being done for trans people or the great things trans people have done, are doing & will continue to do?
Sincerely,
Beth Volante (@cheapshotsdean)
Dear Twitter,
Why must you shame your users who are larger in weight than average? Have you not learned that fat and beautiful are not mutually exclusive? All body types are beautiful, and all should be accepted, not just those that are commonly seen on the cover of magazines. Fat is not a dirty word. It’s a word I use to describe myself (and not negatively). And if you can’t come to terms with that, you can kiss my fat ass.
Sincerely,
Alex Brown (@_alexb12)
Dear Twitter,
I don’t know if you know this, but there is a ‘B’ in LGBTQIA+ for a reason. Shockingly enough, it stands for bisexual! Bisexuality is defined as being attracted to two genders, most often—but not always—men and women. Contrary to popular belief, bisexuals can like both men and women—or individuals of other genders—without being confused and without being “sluts”. The belief that we are “half-gay, half-straight” is very toxic and erases our identities, so we would appreciate it if you could refrain from using that definition. Many of us—especially when in heterosexual relationships—are excluded from the LGBTQIA+ community. If we are unable to find acceptance in our own community, how are we supposed to find acceptance on a societal scale? Well, for a start, you could stop insisting that our sexuality does not exist.
Sincerely,
Cassie Baker (@_cassiebaker_)
Dear Twitter,
In this day and age there are a million different styles to try out, and it’s hard to know which ones are appropriate to wear. But, if you want to wear a cultural accessory or article of clothing, it’s probably not an okay style. Henna looks great, but it has amazing cultural and religious significance in south Asian and Arab culture. The same goes for bindis, but when the people belonging to the culture wear them they’re called “dot heads,” “pakis,” and other derogatory names. Dreads are awesome, I know, but black people of color have been wearing dreadlocks and braids for centuries in order to maintain their hair. They have faced oppression, bullying, and discrimination because of the hairstyles that belong to them, when non-black people (most commonly white) are praised for wearing the same hairstyles that don’t belong to them. Hijabs are worn by some Muslim women, and they get harassed and accused of being terrorists. The same situation occurs with Sikh men wearing turbans. Even if one person of a culture says it’s okay to wear their culture’s clothing, don’t do it unless you’re part of the culture or attending a cultural event (i.e. at a hindu wedding, you could wear a sari and/or a bindi.)
When someone of a culture tells you that you wearing their culture’s attire is offensive, don’t get defensive. Please listen to them, try and understand, and please, please, stop wearing the cultural item.
Sincerely,
Maya Durham (@mayacdurham)
Dear Twitter,
I know most things tweeted are jokes and sure, they shouldn’t be taken serious. But serious things shouldn’t be joked about in return. For example, if victims of abuse are suffering and being triggered by things going on in the world around them, people should not backfire with ignorant tweets, such as “quit being triggered, you’re triggering me”. I get that people find these things funny but please be mindful of how there are millions of users on Twitter, all with different stories and different lifestyles. Not everyone finds your “jokes” funny. Some can emotionally harm people and this needs to be addressed instead of shrugged off. This can easily be fixed by just THINKING before hitting that “Tweet” button.
Sincerely,
Sabena Chadda (@sighsabena)
Dear Twitter,
It’s simple. There have been far too many times islamophobic hashtags have been used to spread intolerance and hatred towards Muslims. We now live in a world where the benefit of the doubt is distributed unevenly and our discriminatory words can create toxic environments for religious and racial minorities. I don’t know about you, but things like #killallmuslims and #stopislam cross the line in so many ways. If we want to cultivate our world in a positive manner, we need to understand the repercussions of our actions and how damaging a simple tweet can be if we allow prejudice and bias to consume our mind. Twitter is an excellent platform to express opinions and thoughts but it’s important to maintain a fair mindset; you cannot belittle injustices we have not faced. Innocent muslims have constantly experienced harassment and violence as a result of the senseless dehumanization against them. These are peaceful families I’m talking about; young children, teenagers, parents, and grandparents–all with the same desires of safety as you. It’s time we understood the consequences behind our tweets and began to show a little more love to the Muslim community.
Sincerely,
Mahnoor Imran (@mahnoorximran)
Dear Twitter,
Yes, yes I know that your intentions are great and all. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy their notifications blowing up every now and then? But you shouldn’t just post something for popularity. Be as true to yourself as you can possibly be. Make sure you tweet what you believe 100% in. Twitter is such a powerful platform in order to get in touch with people from all around the world. Remember, when you tweet something you strongly stand behind, nothing is greater than gaining connections with people who back you up on those same issues. Just because that anti-semitic or anti-woman tweet is funny to you now, doesn’t mean you will want people who agree with that point of view following you for the rest of your life.
Sincerely,
Zoe Levine (@xzoelevine)
Dear Twitter,
I know it’s overwhelming. There are so many issues we are trying to tackle head on for different people all around the world. Racism, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Mental Health Awareness, etc… and I don’t ever want to take away from that! Our momentum is incredible! But please try to remember that us disabled (handicapable!) folk need some awareness too. The only time I ever saw Twitter get all riled up over ableism was that one time when Kylie Jenner posed in a wheelchair for a photoshoot. #AbleismExists- no seriously, check out the hashtag to get just a glimpse into our lives! There are real issues we face every single day that no one wants to talk about. To name a few: constantly being invalidated, limited accessibility, under representation in television, the fact that able-bodied actors get casted to play disabled characters when we are more than completely capable to do it ourselves! When disabled authors write books about characters with disabilities, they get written off and sold as memoirs while when able bodied authors write books about characters with disabilities they get awards! We do not deserve to be overlooked, talked over, and forgotten about! We are not worth less than anyone else and we deserve to be front and center sometimes too! For more information about this, I encourage you to follow both Kody Keplinger (Author, Feminist, Activist and Co-Founder of @DisabilityInLit) and Disability In Lit on Twitter and I encourage you to help bring our struggles out of the shadows!
Sincerely,
Kaliane Simpson (@HotCocoaKaliane)
Dear Twitter,
Most of my high school and middle school experience was spent at a predominately white school. I felt alone and like I didn’t fit in anywhere among the pretty, thin blonde girls. I didn’t feel smart enough to be there any more than I felt pretty enough to be there. It was at this school that I learned I was, “pretty for a black girl.” Recently though I learned that I’m not pretty for a black girl but that I’m pretty because I’m a black girl, and that I’m smart because I take my education seriously. So for all of Twitter who assumes the worst about black women simply because we’re black women— it’s time for you to go.
Sincerely,
Epiphany Jones (@th0tany)
Dear Twitter,
I don’t blame you. I really don’t. We live in a world where the conversation concerning basically everything from politics to entertainment has been commanded by generations older than us. I understand how exciting it is to find a place to learn about the world and the people in it and a place where we are in control of the conversation.
I understand that, in the excitement of having a new and accessible venue to just talk, it’s easy to just make it all about you. It’s so easy, in a world where the public has control over the conversation, to try and control it all yourself.
But you have to understand that it’s so easy to be close-minded when it comes to social media. It’s so easy to read the headline and make your judgement about the content. It’s so easy to develop educated, impassioned opinions on issues that directly affect you- and remain ignorant of those that don’t. It’s so easy to talk over people rather than communicate with them. It’s easy to spread opinions and baseless “facts” that push forward negative ideals and regressive perspectives. It’s easy to be so wrapped up in “freedom of opinion”, you forget the responsibility we all have to educate ourselves.
Twitter is a great tool to communicate- but we have to remember that it was built for us to create conversations, not perpetuate ignorance. Let’s use Twitter to create bridges, not walls.
Sincerely,
Megan Hunt (@MegzThatzMe)
Dear Twitter,
We wrote this letter because we feel that there are important issues that are joked about far too often and need to be acknowledged. We hope that you will listen to us when we say that certain things are not okay, certain things can not be made fun of, certain things hurt.
Sincerely,
The Affinity Writers
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