There’s a situation among some people in my favorite hobby. I’m nominally an organizer so I feel like I should be doing something but I’m not really certain what more I can do without stepping on the safety groups toes.

Have you had to deal with bullying? What happened, how was it dealt with, and what were the outcomes?

      • Jul (they/she)@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        1·
        5 days ago

        Are they independent or appointed by someone who oversees the main group?

        Reiterate to them that the issue needs to be addressed, and if they don’t and won’t give a valid reason it should not be addressed, then go to the next level of the organization if it exists. If they are not accountable to anyone in particular, then address the issue with the community as a whole to either force them to say why, or be replaced.

        If the community majority accepts the bullying as “normal” then last resort is to attempt to fork the community to leave behind those who feel the bullying is acceptable.

        This is just high level and there are many nuances in various communities based on their reason for existing and the subject of the bullying.

        For example, if this is a case of bullying over gender identity, with the current political and corporate policies saying that is acceptable, it can be more difficult to shame people or to even get them to acknowledge to themselves that they are bullying rather than just “putting someone in their proper place”. This can mean more drastic measures like forking the community between people who think trans-people are subhuman, don’t actually exist, etc., and people who believe they are valid members of society worthy of human decency. A few decades ago that would have been black people, etc.

        But if it’s something childish like general social status, fashion, music taste, or whatever, it’s usually something that can be stopped with less effort just by shaming the bullies and their apologists. But do it carefully and offer them every opportunity to address the issue first or it may look like you are bullying them.