Crusaders and Zealots (was Torches and pitchforks)

(updated below. title updated too to make Adam Newbold feel better)

(related post here)

I will start this post by saying Manton Reece doesn't need me to defend him. Over the years he's been a leader in the Indieweb space and always known for being very thoughtful. That is why I'm writing this.

People, especially customers of micro.blog, are taking Manton to task over his employment of Vincent Ritter. Vincent has been accused multiple times now of being a transphobe, and harassed, by Adam Newbold of omg.lol.

Newbold has posted recently on his Mastodon instance social.lol a screenshot from an incident last year in which Vincent made a mistake in the heat of the moment about pronouns. He dared use quotes around the word in reference to being forced to put in pronouns in a video game he was playing. He apologized - profusely I might add. I know, I was involved in that incident and also accused of being a transphobe when I came to his defense. I don't like bullying. Newbold is a bully.

I spent a lot of time talking to Vincent via email after that incident. He is not a transphobe. He is not anti-LGBTQ+. He is none of the things he's being accused of and Newbold's behavior was despicable then and doubly despicable now since he seems to be following Vincent around social media and has now taken offense over some posts Vincent made on X about SpaceX rocket launches (and dared to "@" Elon Musk directly). He's dredging up the whole affair again but this time he's now dragging Manton into it because Vincent does coding work for Manton on micro.blog.

Manton doesn't owe anyone an explanation about anything, especially Newbold who has this weird idea that Manton needs to answer to him for any of this. I'd ask the other people demanding an explanation this question: do you think Manton, who's always been thoughtful and fair in trying to make sure micro.blog is a welcoming community, would really keep working with someone who is a transphobe? Do you really think that little of his judgement and character? Maybe the fact that he's defended Vincent this whole time is meaningful and should be considered vs. jumping on Newbold's pile?

In the meantime take a look at Newbold's actions. He and his mob forced Vincent off of social media the first round of this nonsense and cost him a lot of business (Vincent runs several blogging-related websites. Highly recommended by the way.). Now he and his mob are trying to cause problems for Manton's business.

None of this is right nor fair. I don't care what the current political climate is. What's worse is Newbold thinks he's justified in these actions and sees absolutely nothing wrong with the torch-and-pitchfork method of making a point. It's disgusting behavior.

Update: because I see Newbold reacted to this on Mastodon and since I don't have an account on Mastodon anymore I'll respond here.

I’ve never seen Jason make a clear, personal statement of support for queer people. I’ve seen him disparage one behind her back, and I’ve seen him (just now) declare that he’s not a transphobe. But I’ve never seen any actual support.

And I won't give you the satisfaction as it's none of your business. Full stop. This is what you don't seem to understand. I don't owe you anything. Nobody else does either. I know what the queer people I associate with think of me. That's all that matters. If you and your mob of merry folk don't like it? 🤷‍♂️ I don't really give a damn.

(To be fair I've made the statement about not being a transphobe or anti-LGBTQ+ many times. That you haven't paid attention isn't my problem. I also find it odd that I'm not being called out for not making "personal statements of support" for any other non-white cishet male groups that also need it but this is your schtick).

You say:

They’re not recognizing the underlying problem; they’re too busy *defending* the problem.

The "underlying problem" is you and your lack of awareness that not everybody is you. You don't have some fucking monopoly on understanding the problems.

As to "I’ve seen him disparage one behind her back" - nonsense. At the time called them a jackass. You said in another post:

You knew a trans person was hurt, and you piled on anyway.

This is a straight up lie. You knew it was a trans person because you and that person were having back-channel conversations. I had no idea at all who this person was let alone whether they were trans or not and even the person in question said as much in their own post back in the day:

The most unsettling part of this was their mentions full of cisgender white men, some I know from online, defending them, claiming I was being a jackass. I don't fault them for this, the provider didn't name me or any specifics at all, just that someone was trying to cancel them.

(emphasis mine)

Vincent never said a word who it was. I only found out later and I apologized for it to them on Mastodon, in private (I know you hate that unless it's convenient for you), and never heard back. Didn't expect to. End of story. I was not the only one so not sure why you seem to be singling me out. I was one of several giving support to an online friend that was having a problem. Anyone who really knows me knows I can be blunt and wear my heart on my sleeve. It's who I am. I also am quick to apologize when I'm wrong, which I did.

Anyhow, enough is enough. Have said my bit about all of this.