by Ray Flook

I'm a huge fan of social media…think it's one of the best things man's invented since the wheel and chocolate pudding pies. Facebook…Twitter…Instagram…doesn't matter, think they're all great. It's safe to say that I'll never be that crotchety old guy, sitting on his front porch and shaking his cane as he yells at social media to get its damn ball out of his petunias. Best part about it? It exposes us for who we really are…warts and all. But more specifically, it gives us a chance to get to know more about the people we idolize in ways no one ever imagined…for better and worse. For me, I would have to use Dan Slott as my example. I'm a genuine fan of the man's work, his passion for his beliefs and his overall level of "geekiness." I even had the chance to say hello to him briefly at a Doctor Who event in NYC a few years back. That's why it was so shocking to read what the man had to say on Twitter about Bleeding Cool and those who write for it. When someone compares the site that I'm lucky enough to be able to write for to a "snuff film" and actively advocates for its shutdown, I will take that a little personally. So we were tweeting back-and-forth, both of us making our points and not really giving an inch, and…then I'm blocked. Yup…blocked by the guy whose work I admired. To be clear…at no point were my tweets ever abusive, threatening or just argumentative for arguing's sake. In fact, if I remember correctly we were mid-back-and-forth on some topic when I got the message. Goddamned Dan Slott blocked me. Fuck my life. And that really drove-home this point for me: people who can sing beautifully…or act extraordinarily…or throw a ball perfectly…or give a speech fiery…or write a story provocatively…or paint a picture passionately…they all have one thing in common: the strong capacity to be raging assholes.

But there are definitely exceptions to that rule…and Tee "Vixen" Franklin is one of them. For those who didn't read the write-up on her powerful #BlackComicsMonth panel at NYCC 2016, I'm a huge fan of the work Franklin's done and continues to do every day to change the comics industry so that it reflects the diversity that's been supporting it for so long. She's a bomb-thrower…a shit-stirrer…a speaker of harsh truths at a time when we need people like her the most. She's also equal-opportunity when it comes to who ends-up on the losing end of her "word fu" assault. I didn't have to look any further than earlier this week, when Franklin took to her Twitter soap box to address the gulf that exists between the number of people who claim to support books and creators of color and the sales figures for books and creators of color. Here are just a few samples of her thoughts…

Now this is the part of the story where things took an unexpected turn. Earlier this week, there was a heated Twitter exchange between Franklin, Tim Seeley (Nightwing, The Lost Boys) and a number of other creators and followers stemming from views expressed on Humberto Ramos and other artists' decision to not attend events in states that voted for Donald Trump earlier this month. During that exchange, Franklin felt she was being disrespected by Seeley in his responses to her in comparison to his responses to other creators in the conversation. My original plan was to report on what had gone down, taking screencaps of various Twitter exchanges and reaching out to both Franklin and Seeley to get their thoughts and perspectives. I was lucky enough to hear back very quickly from Franklin via email; and from Seeley via Twitter about a day or so after due to personal matters. But as I was beginning to put the pieces of the puzzle together, I heard back from both of them again regarding the post. Franklin was concerned that revisiting the topic would create for her the kind of backlash she received initially; and Seeley requested that I not go with his response tweets because he stated that the last time he was on Bleeding Cool he "got trolled by monsters." So I decided to respect their wishes and sit on what they had sent me…and that's when the irony of it all hit me like a bag of hammers: two people on two different sides of this issue both came to me with the same concern. And they were right. Rehashing what happened would've made for some nice hits and shares…but would've ripped-open old wounds .

Because that's where we're at…now more than ever. People are scared, confused and righteously fucking pissed…feeling that their already-barely-heard voices will be further silenced in the new political climate. They have the right to feel that way; and a right to not be told what the "right" and "wrong" way is to be scared…confused…righteously fucking pissed and how to express it, especially by those who may not appreciate their perspective. I'll leave it up to you to interpret that any way you want. For me, it's anyone who looks exactly like the guy I see when I look in the mirror. Because I don't care how liberal and open-minded of a white guy you are, you will never be in a position to understand what groups who've had to listen to themselves be vilified for months by those now in the highest positions of power are feeling right now. That's why it's called "privilege." So when you publicly critique someone's way of dealing…their way of protesting…their way of fighting back…you have to expect (and rightfully deserve) to be set right and put back into your proper role by those most threatened. Change won't happen without accepting some seriously uncomfortable truths, with a whole bunch of societal "bitter pills" still left to swallow.

But then there's the other half of this equation…the second thematic silver lining that I took from both Franklin and Seeley: social media no longer allows for actual debate and has become a blunt force object. It's mostly, "So this is what I think and…FUCK YOU!!!!" There's no context or nuance…it's all "1" (you agree with me) or "10" (you don't completely agree with me so you suck)…"2" through "9" are pretty much on vacation. There's no room to be "wrong," because being "wrong" can bring down a shit-storm of hate on you the likes you've never seen. Then you're labeled…and the problem with "labeling" on social media is that pretty much everything now has a much longer "shelf life" than it used to so that even one dumb tweet can come back to haunt you four years later and completely change people's perceptions of you. Now as for it being a "blunt force object"…that's pretty obvious: those without the mental capacity to engage in actual debate instead use their social media presence to do nothing more than break shit down to feel better about themselves and feel some pathetic level of importance. These are the wastes who attack the looks of Leslie Jones simply because she "dared" take a role in a movie they hold way too precious (and I fucking live for the original). They offer nothing to the conversation yet think that their numbers and bullying tactics alone make them legitimate.

Yet both "the wastes" and the "1/10ers" have one thing in common in the end: they scare people away from having a conversation. Feels like every week, I'm reading about another creator choosing to leave social media because of all the venom thrown their way. That's not good, folks. As we continue to lose more and more people who we need to stay vocal and active online, what we're left with is an echo chamber of yelling, finger-pointing and name-calling. Nothing changes. Nothing gets better. It just gets worse. In all honesty, I have a feeling that things are going to get a lot worse before they gets better…but it doesn't have to be that way.

Unfortunately, I wish I had some kind of "…and everyone lived happily ever after!" way of wrapping-up this post but I don't. Approximately three days ago, Franklin notified her Twitter followers that she would be leaving social media…at least for the foreseeable future. I'm going to end this article with screencaps from her last series of tweets which explain her reasoning, but before I go I'm going to ask you to do me a solid. As you're reading (from bottom to top…thanks), ask yourself this: How could it ever be right for someone to be made to feel that way? How do any of us go benefit when voices like hers are forced to go silent?

Ray Flook has been "Ray-splaining" as a contributing writer to Bleeding Cool since 2013. You can follow him on Twitter at @oldmangeek88; on Instagram at @oldmangeek; and soon through the Big Bad Geek podacast..