Dear Meta, Screw You: My Unexpected Journey from The Ranting Zone to A Blue in a Sea of Reds
Screw Meta.
"SCREW YOU!" - Douglas Quaid, Total Recall
Kermit the Frog once eloquently said: "It's not easy being green." While I'm no Muppet, I can certainly relate, as it's not easy being autistic. Society thinks we're weird. Bullies target us for our quirks. Everyday situations that come easily to most people, such as school, work, social situations, and romantic relationships, can be stressful for us. It's a tough life that becomes even tougher as an adult, when most services and resources perform their disappearing act, like a magician's assistant.
So, whenever describing myself and my disability to others, I always tell them: "I'm a blue in a sea of reds." That's the best way I can sum up the experience of living on the spectrum, and why I chose it as the name of this site. As my Meta audience has always responded positively to my autism-related posts, earlier this year I decided to dust off my dormant blog, The Ranting Zone, and share my autistic perspectives on life.
I thought doing so would be a cool way to further hone my writing skills and relieve some of my anxiety while raising awareness and educating others about life on the spectrum. Things went well with my blogging for awhile. I shared links to my latest blog posts on Facebook and Instagram. Many people told me they enjoyed reading my work and appreciated my insights. It felt good and therapeutic. However, this didn't last long, as Meta took it upon themselves to censor, ban, and blacklist my blog from their platforms.
Why did this happen? Apparently, my blog on living with autism is "spam" that "violates" Meta's community standards and terms of service. This was a punch to the belly, leaving me hurt, angry, and flabbergasted. I posted nothing vulgar, obscene, or inappropriate, simply my autistic perspectives on various topics. There wasn't any logical or plausible reason for Meta to kill my readership.
I attempted to contact Meta multiple times. I also appealed its ban and requested an explanation for its decision. However, my appeals and inquiries were ignored, and remain unanswered to this day. This put me in a mega pickle. Not only did Meta remove all my posts and links dedicated to my blog. They also made it impossible for me to post anything on their platforms unless I removed my links from my profiles. It was a final indignity. Being forced to remove my own links was akin to admitting guilt for something I didn't do.
Meta's platforms are currently my only method of remaining in contact with friends and family. As such, I had no choice but to hammer the final nail into my blog's coffin. While I remain on Meta, I now dislike them and rarely use their platforms. I concluded that I needed my own site, my own space to share my thoughts. I thank my good friends, Ollie and Tony, for recommending Neocities and WordPress to me. I feel I have a voice again via A Blue in a Sea of Reds. Thanks for reading.