Facebook and GLAAD Team Up to Stop Anti-Gay Bullies

by Brandon Miller · 2010-10-17 10:30:00 UTC
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Fresh off a screening of The Social Network, I am on a Facebook high. I am shamefully addicted to the 'book, or FB as I like to call it, and it pains me how much time I spend procrastinating on the website. But I feel a bit better about it now that it has become clear that the company is (at least attempting to be) a friend of the gays.

Facebook is joining ranks with the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) to combat anti-gay epithets that have made their way onto the site. They created the partnership after GLAAD asked for Facebook's help in removing a page dedicated to the victims of anti-gay bullying who have committed suicide.

Say what? That had me a bit confused, too. You see, the RIP dedication page soon turned into a war of words, with hate speech about the gay and lesbian community dominating the "discussion." If you have ever attempted to talk to someone pummeling hate speech your way, you'll know that it is not much of a discussion. It is an attack. Facebook has reportedly developed new software that will allow filters to quickly track language that is deemed hateful or threatening to the gay community.

“Educating people about the lasting and damaging impacts of ignorant and hateful comments is a responsibility shared by parents, educators, organizations like GLAAD, and services like Facebook," Facebook Spokesman Andrew Noyes said in a statement. "We take our Statement of Rights and Responsibilities very seriously.”

Despite the fact that posting hate speech about a group of people is against the Terms of Service, Facebook abuse of the LGBT community is widespread. It even happens on the Change.org Gay Rights page. I would have thought that people who hate gays would refrain from signing up to read countless gay-news updates and commentaries, but I am clearly not as smart as I think I am.

On the RIP page in question, one victim's photo was captioned with the phrase, "I'm having a great time in purgatory." Facebook maintains that they want their users to be able to express unpopular opinions, and I agree with that. You can tell me that Jersey Shore is high art. Or that Kentucky Fried Chicken is the greatest food in the world. I can deal with those opinions. But don't tell me that a dead gay kid — a kid who took his own life because he was so tortured while he was still here — is living in purgatory. That has no place on my Facebook. Get rid of the hate speech, get rid of the LGBT threats, and for the love of everything sane in the world, get rid of Farmville.

Photo Credit: Coletivo Mambembe

Brandon Miller is a freelance writer and editor from Toronto, Ontario.
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