Noticing something while doing all this programming during Hispanic Heritage Month.

I believe there is a concerted effort by bots & trolls to undermine latinx people under the guise of being offended by the term Latinx.

incoming thread...

I get that there is some discussion to be had, (why Latinx/Latine etc..) and I am happy to discuss why I think using x or e helps include people who feel like "gendered" language excludes them. Generally this discussion is in good faith and is helpful! 2/?

But there is also a number of randoms replying to lots posts that include the word Latinx. Upon inspection, their accounts have an extreme right lean, or they only reply to posts using the term Latinx in bad faith... the same behavior you see from political bots or trolls. 3/?

That is troubling. Often these accounts use the same arguments about language, but as a thinly veiled cover for the obvious racism in the rest of their content. It's meant to cause self doubt, confusion, and infighting within our community. It wastes our resources. 4/?

They accuse you of being racist towards Latinos, or argue pedantically about pronunciation.

Where else do you see the use of coded language in social discourse? Convos about sexism, trans rights, accessibility, racial equality...

To these people, equality & inclusion = bad. 5/?

What they never do though, is argue substance. Our work benefits as many Latinx groups as possible, run by volunteers in their free time alongside jobs.

We use our platform to empower and uplift people everywhere in this industry.

I dare you to try and argue against that.

6/?

But every day, more shitposts on twitter by bots trying to make us doubt ourselves, or twitch trolls mocking the word, not the the work.

I used to let this bother me. Now it empowers me.

These people are scared. They are trying to slow us down and divide us.

7/?

They are threatened by terms meant to bring together the diverse and talented voices in our community. They see us consolidating and mobilizing and they want to undermine our movement before it starts.

Fuck that.

8/?

Don't waste your time fighting with people who are trying to argue in bad faith, but.... also be ready to try and inform members of our community who don't understand. There is real racism and colorism and toxic "machismo" within the Latinx community that we need to combat. 9/?

Keep working. Keep uplifting. Keep using your love and talent and passion to help others. These people are afraid of the Latinx community coming together, and they should be.

this thread brought to you by 48 hours of watching our
moderators filter through twitch comments for @LatinosinGaming and a cup of coffee at 8PM