Finally. I have long awaited this day.Not long from now, in a week or so, I will delete my personal Facebook account. And I have long awaited this day. At least from the time that I mentioned that I had been assaulted on New York Law School's campus by Stephen Nesbit in 2014, and Howard Meyers--lawyer, professor, and esteemed member of New York Law School--demanded that I remove all social media references to the assault, on behalf of New York Law School's Harassment and Discrimination Review Board, then comprised of Howard Meyers, Erika Wood, and Jeffery Becherer, all employees of New York Law School. At least for now, I will keep Instagram open (I'll explain at a later date)No, your eyes do not deceive you. I am not smiling, although I finally have many reasons to do so. I have never admired Mark Zuckerberg, and finally I can no longer justify continuing on a platform that creates wealth for him. Particularly when I weigh the role his company has played in adversely impacting democracy and communities that I am fighting to elevate. So, I will delete my personal Facebook page and I will not use Facebook to advertise any business venture that I support. It wasn't just that predator-supporting New York Law School students copied information from my Facebook and gave it to morally weak lawyers at NYLS, who believed I could be bullied into silence. It was the lack of justifiable good that Zuckerberg and his product contribute to society in general. It was a why moment for me. Why the hell did WE allow Zuckerberg and Facebook to become so powerful? Do they cure cancer, end campus assault, end rape, feed millions of underfed, decrease the infant mortality rate, or increase life spans? Have they solved poverty, homelessness, opioid usage, incarceration issues--do they do anything meaningful and positive for anyone, anywhere? Then why the hell do we care so much about Zuckerberg and his product?At some point, Americans (even white American males) must be held accountable for their acts and omissions. Zuckerberg can't be this revolutionary billionaire when awards are being handed out, and then an unwitting and innocent boy when it comes time to take responsibility for damage created and made possible by a product that he created. This is the same defense that millions of Americans were willing to give to Trump, and that allowed a man wholly incompetent to become president of the United States. The 'reign of terror'--Trump's presidency--which continues to devastate, destabilize, and wreak havoc in lives and communities foreign and domestic was made possible and more likely by efforts that capitalized on Zuckerberg's Facebook. I can neither condone the undoing of democracy or be complicit by doing nothing. So, I'm kissing Facebook goodbye.People began showing me rape scars, asking me to do something. I didn't want vulnerable people seeking me out on social media, because I knew the platforms were not safe. I knew the lengths the 'lawyers of tomorrow' and those already practicing in the U.S. were willing to go in order to protect predators who were white, wealthy, and would sell their souls. I'm doing something. |
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April 2021
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