why restriction is a gif(t).
i was a little late to the game, but when i discovered it, i became a huge fan of instagram's little gif stickers. as someone who loves bullet journaling, basically every 5-min craft video on facebook, and aesthetic design, i was definitely throwing a lot of my not-so-free time at scrolling through the gif library and shamelessly searching for random words and phrases to see what little moving pictures would come up.
the gif stickers are like those scented markers for millennials growing up in the 90s and early 00s. totally extra, but when you take them away it still makes you kinda mad.
while i'm sure the feature accumulated profit for some behind the scenes and gave more publicity to the insta/snapchat apps, i think it had other purposes as well, for its users.
my guess is the feature was initially created to enhance the experience for its users...
to provide a better experience for people in environments where an extra option might be a useful tool.
i was trying to dec out my insta-story a couple days ago, and i couldn't find the gifs. i thought something was wrong with my phone (was i still playing tag with these iphone updates?....) until i realized the company indefinitely deactivated the feature. why? because racist content had somehow slipped in and made itself accessible to all users. someone found a way to take something that could be a tool for cultural expression and turn it into a tool for socially aggressive behavior. sound familiar?
newspapers, social media, news channels, school newsletters, and conversations are being flooded right now - questions and fear and anger and grief and pleads to reevaluate the system and political/social climate that has made it possible for armed assaulters and dangerously unstable individuals to literally fire at students, heroic educators, people, daughters, sons, children.
that is not okay.
let me voice what is not simply my opinion but a necessary-to-recognize truth:
this is not okay.
yes, i'm aware that to some, guns are a part of culture/means for hunting food/sense of security/second-amendment right.
here's the thing. the second amendment is an amendment. meaning the portion of the us constitution itself was added on later as an edit as seen necessary for the needs of the nation at that time.
now that the nation in its current state calls for something different, why can we not amend this document again? one that was designed "for the people" but is somehow used to defend people's lives being in jeopardy.
when the giphy company stopped the aggression in its tracks, of course i was frustrated and disappointed that i couldn't use them anymore. part of me wanted to argue "it's not fair that some messed up users have to ruin it for the rest of us" and wished they could just press chargers on the abusive user(s) and allow the feature to still be available and accessible.
but giphy sets a standard for integrity and priority, that could and should be mirrored in our government.
maybe the gif feature will be available again (i hope!) but when it does, the company will have been able to reintroduce it in a way that has no margin for this kind of violent error. they didn't first go and spend months negotiating if it would be worth while to temporarily freeze things or restrict them altogether. they didn't simply offer "thoughts and prayers" to the offended or affected and wait for consumers and non-consumers alike to beg for change.
in taking the first step in addressing the issue, they made it known that their product was not intended to provide people with a way to attack one another, and were willing to forfeit their popularity and potential growing profit to acknowledge a more important issue right then and there.
they took this issue seriously. regardless of whatever contracts or technicalities that had already been in place. i'm no businesswoman in these things, but if an offensive, racist gif sticker is a valid reason for the folks in charge to take such big steps and put their feet down, why aren't the same steps taken when actual lives are involved? even the most conservative folks i know can lay religious politics down at the grave of innocent children.
maybe gifs and social media culture aren't always meant to be taken seriously, but at the least, this shows that their creators take you and me seriously, and are committed to protecting the identities, safety, and honor of people out there on all receiving ends.
can the same be said about the creators of our laws and delegators of our national security?
the people i hope to trust to one day protect my baby's life when she's at school learning, dreaming, exploring the world?
it's hard to envision a better future when the ones who are our future aren't given as much promise and security as the weapons that hurt them.
your voice is important.
every little step counts, every handful of seed helps us build this mountain.
GM