Facebook sucks

So, some of you who follow me here may do so on Facebook as well. If so, you might have noticed I have been MIA for the past month. Yes, I was banned by FB for the most asinine (and confusing) reason for 30 days.

Some of you may know that I am a moderator for a U.S. Navy page and also a co-moderator for a group whose audience is people of same-sex persuasion... yes, gay. 
Those people *gasp*

The group "Kick the Ick's" purpose is to provide a welcoming home for us where some may not feel it elsewhere. On occasion, I post G/PG-rated photos on this page.

A month ago I posted six photos of men kissing. Tame stuff. No tongues down one another's throats, no pawing at one another to get out of their clothes. Just a kiss.

I have learned, obviously, a kiss is (NOT) just a kiss. 

One of the six photos showed a Jewish and a Muslim man kissing. Instantly, I received a notification that I had violated Facebook's nudity/sexual activity community standard.

Trust me, there was no nudity. And unless you consider a loving kiss sexual, there was no sexual activity.

I do not know if you have been slapped with a FB infraction before or not, but when it happens you are offered the choice of do you agree or not with the infraction. I did not.

Too bad. I protested four times to no avail.

I went through this same process a couple of years back. Did any of you see the first Spiderman movie starring Tobey Maguire? If you did, you might remember the scene where Spidey hangs upside down and Mary Jane, his long-time love interest, pulls off his mask and when she sees Spiderman is her beloved Peter Parker, they kiss. 

How romantic!

On my page, I located a photo, same exact pose, but with two guys.

I immediately got slapped with a 'nudity/sexual activity' infraction. Again, no nudity, no sex (can someone even have sex hanging upside down hanging from a spider web?). I protested, but this time they consented that they had overreacted and removed the infraction. Good, huh? Not!

The next day, I reposted the exact same photo and got banned AGAIN! This time, they (whoever "they" is) refused to back down and I was banned for a day.

In the intervening years, I have been banned a few more times (two that I deserved).

So, now 30 days later I am back (with the proviso that "they" are watching (again, whoever "they" is).

Am I angry about this? am I confused? Am I worried? You bet I am!

How many hateful Donald Trump posts have Facebook allowed to slide by unpunished? How many posts have you seen that are clear examples of HATE go unchallenged?

So now I wonder if my 'a boy and his dog' photos will land me in hot water? Will my anti-Donald Trump posts cause me grief?

The sad matter of the fact is, the process for getting torched can come from viewer complaints or from a computer algorithm (which was the case for the two photos I mentioned here). Both photos that landed me in hot water were flagged within one second of my posting them. No one even had a chance to see them to 'get all offended.'

After I was banned, two of my friends tested the waters with the photo that most recently got me in trouble. They both were instantly slapped with a warning.

My problem with this process is there is no one you can complain too. Their decision is absolute. Facebook's process is impenetrable. If you saw the photo that seemingly violates community standards, you would shake your head in disbelief.

I have toyed with the idea of exiting, but to what purpose. I have some wonderful friends here. Facebook is a great means of staying in touch with family and friends (personal and those we meet here). The two groups that I work with are but one reason I hesitate to leave.

In the past month, I have missed you all (I was, at least, able to maintain contact through FB IM). I suspect in the coming days a dam has now been breached and you might see a lot of posts from me. You know, to get it out of my system. LoL!

If I disappear again, you will know why... sort of.

If that happens I hope you will visit me on my blog 'Running2Nowhere' where I have plenty to say without fear of being censored.

http://dmappin-running2nowhere.blogspot.com/

So for now, I am back AND pissed as hell with Facebook's hypocrisy. What do? What to do?

And Justice for All

CBS News' excellent special 'Justice For All' ran at 10 p.m. this evening. This should have been a three-hour event. It was thoughtful, thought-provoking, and heartbreaking.

Watching story after story clearly illustrates we in America have such a long way to achieve Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King's dream.

The sad thing is this one hour program could not begin to scratch the surface of issues we face.

Gale King was the perfect host for this event. She is a great interviewer and the other reporters all illustrated the thorny issue that we MUST conquer! Or we will fall.

One thing I resented, and for most of you who may read this, this will not be an issue unless your CBS affiliate is owned by Sinclair like WSBT is.

Halfway through the program, WSBT ran a (approximately) two minute Sinclair moment that basically played a "let's just get along" diatribe. I almost expected them to break out in song singing kumbaya.

Sinclair couldn't stand the thought of letting CBS present the view that so many police forces across America have sewed the seeds of distrust and discontent that they now face. The political stance of "tough on crime" has seeped into law enforcement in ways that condone brutality and excessive force.

Police officers who once commanded respect and friendship, now face fear and yes, hatred.

I fear that with America's short attention span, these issues will be forgotten once the next news cycle takes over. We cannot let that happen.

Black lives do matter

Black Lives Matters held a peaceful protest downtown here in South Bend tonight. I wish I had known they were meeting (I learned after the fact).

America's conversation about black lives and police brutality is long overdue... Decades, many decades--if not a century--overdue!

I can only imagine some police forces HATE the fact that no matter where they turn, we citizens now have cell phone cameras that are ready to capture every indiscretion, every brutal act, and yeah, in some cases, the good things they do.

Where would we be today if cameras had not been there as George Floyd died at the hands (knee) if the Minneapolis police? Watching the nearly nine video is painful, horrifying.

Just last year, my South Bend had its own run-in when a white South Bend Police officer Sgt. Ryan O'Neill shot Eric Logan after it was reported Logan had broken into some parked cars. O'Neill did not turn on his body cam and later, a special prosecutor deemed O'Neill's actions were justified. O'Neill claimed Logan came at him with a knife.

I feel every time a police officer is charged with a brutal act and when asked about their uniform body cams, all too often they said they hadn't turned theirs on. In those cases, I think they should be fired on the spot. There is absolutely no excuse not to have their cameras on! Their cameras are supposed to be for their protection as well as ours. Let's face it, in this day and age, an officer's good word of honor is not good enough.

What really scares me is how so many juries have been remiss in convicting police officers when shit like the events of these past few weeks (decades) have occurred. All police officers have to do is claim, "I was afraid for my life."

Cell phone cameras are thankfully making such pitiful claims harder to take seriously. Watching Floyd's killer's face on the video is stupifying. He looked defiant, uncaring, proud even. With him forcing his knee into Floyd's neck... with his hands in his pockets clearly showed his callousness to life.

I personally have had a bad run-in with our city’s police force (in 1996) and my experience vastly pales to the treatment of our black and Hispanic brethren.

I want to trust those who protect us but we all have seen the reasons why we do so with trepidation.

When Floyd's murderers are brought to trial, we must be ready if their juries turn a blind eye. What happens then? Action? What?

Can we get past that peacefully? History says otherwise.