I have seen some real shit from Tumblr.
I've seen someone on Tumblr comparing people who ask for reliable sources to slave owners and rape deniers. I've seen someone on Tumblr use Leelah Alcorn's suicide as a platform to potshot at GamerGate. I've seen a group of
adults on Tumblr dox and bully a
12-year-old for saying that comedy shouldn't be censored because that neuters it.
And this? This beats them all. How does someone in their (presumably) right mind think, "Yes. I, someone who is technically an adult, am fully comfortable with my decision to not only try to
justify trying to get a minor to commit suicide, but also
telling her she is the cause of all racial inequality, and oh yeah she apparently deserves to die because she didn't draw the lesbo space rocks right. "
All this over
fucking Steven Universe fanart. Racist/sexist/whatever or not (I have zero opinion on Zamii herself or her art), this level of backlash is insane, hateful, and does not achieve anything positive.
Demanding suicide doesn't advance race relations. It doesn't provide artists with insight on how their art could be construed as offensive when they don't want it to be. It doesn't allow for real, intelligent discussion on issues of race or gender or appearance. It just leads to hatred and misery.
At "best," someone is cowed into submission because Tumblr deems their work to be wrongthink. At worst, the same someone dies an undeserved and untimely death because they didn't toe the line.
Matriarchalmuffin and their ilk could have chosen a better path. They could have responded in a mature and decent manner to Zamii. They could have accepted her apologies. They could have let her recover in peace.
But they didn't. The people who bullied Zamii chose to stroke their own egos in the name of causes they only support to look good, they chose to kick someone who was at their lowest, and because that I have no respect for them.
/end rant