Calling Out Hate In Fandom Isn’t Enough. We Must Deplatform It.

In March 2021, this account published an 8<a href="https://rewritingripley.medium.com/in-plain-sight-how-white-supremacy-misogyny-and-hate-targeted-the-star-wars-sequel-trilogy-and-2fd0be4b242" rel="noopener">0+ page deep dive</a> that leveraged the racist and misogynistic backlash against Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi as one example of how alt-right ideology has spread from fringe forums and white nationalist think tanks to the most accessible social media networks online today. Within the past few months, harassment tactics enabled by loosely organized alt-right spaces on YouTube have made a resurgence in mainstream media outlets including <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/star-wars-fandom-racism/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Wired</a> and <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/06/star-wars-celebration-fandom" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Vanity Fair </a>due to racism aimed at Obi-Wan Kenobi star, Moses Ingram. On May 30th, the Star Wars official Twitter account denounced the racist hate that Ingram <a href="https://twitter.com/MTimmitjr/status/1531547528155504640?s=20&t=NEvr8UJ_C-oatQSJlIFtXA" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">received</a> via YouTube and Instagram. Star Wars <a href="https://twitter.com/starwars/status/1531519653951836161?lang=en" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">posted</a>, “if anyone intends to make [Ingram] feel in any way unwelcome…we resist.” Moments later, the tweet was flooded with Twitter users claiming that Star Wars was disrespectful to the fans and Ingram’s character was simply “badly written.” <a href="https://rewritingripley.medium.com/calling-out-hate-in-fandom-isnt-enough-we-must-deplatform-it-24ab2394ae5b">Visit Now</a>