Blocked for life from Reddit? Again?

Today I was blocked for life... from Reddit. Again.

"This account has been permanently banned. Check your inbox for a message with more information." Same thing, right?

Why? What could I have done to get banned...for life? What's this mean? 

It means Reddit has permanently banned my account, preventing me from posting, commenting, or interacting on the platform. It said I should check my inbox for a message from Reddit explaining the reason for the ban. The message might include details about the specific rule violation and whether you can appeal the decision.

I've been banned before. Some say if you haven't been banned anywhere, you're not trying hard enough. I try hard. But I've always gotten accepted back. The Trump years have forced many of us to speak out.

"First They Came" by Pastor Martin Niemöller...

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a socialist.
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—
Because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

So we speak out, cause a ruckus, make noise, draw attention, and risk being banned. Or in an evolving fascist state such as we are now, imprisoned, "disappeared", or murdered.

I was listening to Irish Radio, RTE Radio 1 the other day and they were talking about "The Disappeared" and some news about it. 

The "Disappeared" refers to individuals, primarily Catholics and republicans, who were abducted, murdered, and secretly buried by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) and other paramilitary groups during The Troubles (late 1960s–1998) in Northern Ireland.

The IRA justified these killings by accusing the victims of being informers or traitors. Many families of the Disappeared spent decades not knowing what happened to their loved ones.

In 1999, as part of the peace process, the IRA admitted responsibility for some of the disappearances and helped locate burial sites. A government-backed organization, the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR), was established to find the bodies.

Some of the most well-known cases include:

• Jean McConville (1972): A widowed mother of ten, accused (falsely) of being an informant. Her remains were found in 2003.
• Columba McVeigh (1975): A 19-year-old suspected of being an informer, still missing as of 2024.
• Kevin McKee & Seamus Wright (1972): Members of the IRA accused of being British informers, found in 2015.

Of the 17 officially recognized Disappeared, most have been found, but some remain missing.

Wait. Only the IRA did this? Really.

While the IRA is most associated with The Disappeared, British forces and loyalist paramilitaries also engaged in killings, disappearances, and cover-ups during The Troubles (1968–1998).

• British security forces (Army, RUC, MRF) conducted secretive killings and colluded with loyalist groups.

• Loyalist paramilitaries (UVF, UDA) abducted and murdered Catholics and suspected IRA members.

• Notable cases include Pat Finucane (1989), a lawyer murdered with British collusion, and The Hooded Men (1971), tortured by the British Army.

While the IRA admitted to and helped locate their Disappeared, the British government and loyalists rarely acknowledged their own role in such actions.

I bring this up because this is the kind of dire situation America finds itself in now with an evolving conservative, Republican fascist state trying daily, hourly, to push limits, subvert our laws, to get away with hopefully not (yet), murder. Subvert, override, usurp, undermine, whatever they can get away with. So we need to speak up and out, loudly.

Often I've been misunderstood not because I was unclear, but because I was too clear, and those judging me who did not understand English well enough. Some were in a foreign country working for social media because they're cheaper wages there. When it's English as a second language (EASL), I explain and they relent. But it's said that it's also happened too often with those who have English as their primary and only language. 

It often disturbs me how some Americans who can only speak English and often not that great, denigrate those in foreign countries as stupid, when those people have massively long or difficult to pronounce names, and speak multiple or many other languages than their primary language.

I've been experiencing this my entire life because I'm fairly erudite and have a sizeable vocabulary since childhood. I got "grounded" as a kid a lot, and I would happily go to my room and read a book. Suddenly I was in another country, another planet, or another universe. 

My friends didn't understand me much of the time until one day a good friend told me that people liked me a lot, but half the time they didn't know what I was talking about or the meaning of words I used. I grew up greatly because of my mom's mom, that you should always strive to be better tomorrow than yesterday, in every way. Surround yourself with people smarter than you. As an adult, try to be around doctors or lawyers or scientists, writers, artists, or whoever you can find to become friends with. While some may point out issues with that, it's a far better way of living than to surround yourself with the more ignorant and less educated people.

So I listened to my friend and dumbed down my speech, used idioms and common usage terms more, and guess what? Things did change. Then one day, someone I had just met pointed out I didn't seem so bright. Sigh... We continued to talk and they quickly realized I was very different than I was projecting. They asked me why I talked like that?

Just proximity, I guess. You try to fit in. So I learned about context and how to do what our mother had always taught us, to be able to fit into any social situation. Things got better. 

Proximity has a lot to do with our lives. Your friends were who you came into contact with, who clicked with you and you with them, as much as is possible. Or you have no friends. You also date or marry within the cohorts available that you are nearest to. 

Today, with social media, some of that has changed. But it has also evolved social and info "bubbles" of those who migrate into and remain without those siloed environments. It has aided division in America. It has been weaponized by political and international enemies online. And so on.

So, what the hell did I post that got me banned for life from Reddit?

I tried to figure it out, but hey, they delete it so you can't find what it was to argue your case. It said "5 hours ago" so I went to another social media platform and found what it might be.

This... 

With that, I had posted: "Inquiring minds. One DOES want to know. I need time to plan the party..." No other social media responded negatively (esp., not Twitter, I mean, "X", sigh...).

Here's the thing. On the surface, it looks bad, what I posted. But take it piece by piece. The meme is merely making an observation of what MILLIONS of citizens ACTUALLY are thinking and have been wondering since Donald Trump's first POTUS45 administration. And then, he gets re-elected?!! Yes, that's frustration. My comment that I added merely enhances that. It's satire. 

Donald Trump is still POTUS45, who worked hard to normalize his chaos & autocratic bigotry. Which is playing out now as POTUS47, his now normalized version. But all still Donald. The guy who is not our friend. Unless you're a person of very questionable orientation. Or utterly deluded.

Satire is actually protected by the US Constitution.

Just saw someone post this

Satire is protected under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as a form of free speech. The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld the right to satire and parody, even when it targets public figures or political leaders. In Hustler Magazine v. Falwell (1988), the Court ruled that public figures cannot claim damages for emotional distress caused by satire unless it includes false statements of fact made with actual malice. This case reinforced that satire, even when offensive or provocative, is a fundamental part of protected speech.

So, if Reddit bans me for satire, is that illegal?

No, if Reddit bans me for satire, it is not illegal. The First Amendment protects us from government censorship, but private companies like Reddit have their own rules and policies. As a private platform, Reddit can enforce its content policies and ban users for violating them, even if the content is satirical. However, if you believe a ban was unfair, you may be able to appeal it through Reddit’s support system.

And so I did. I said, "You banned me for a post that you deleted, so I cannot know what it was in order to defend myself. If it WAS the Charlie Brown tweet, it was merely an observation of what millions are thinking and not a call to action. It was satire."

But again, they don't share why you're being banned, having deleted what they found offensive. And, the only give you 250 characters to give them a definitive explanation. I find it an effective system in this being about my fourth or fifth ban. But a rather inefficient one.

We'll see what happens. I've been through this before and always been allowed back on. It indicated a single person had turned me in because their feelings were hurt, apparently. It said a person, not an algorithm, has banned me. So a human being had seen and read my post. And they still did not get it as satire. Sigh. 

Legally speaking, the statement is unlikely to qualify as hate speech under U.S. law. The First Amendment protects offensive and controversial speech, including harsh political criticism. Since there’s no direct incitement to violence or a credible threat, it would generally be considered protected speech.

However, private platforms like Reddit, Facebook, or Twitter have their own rules, which often go beyond legal definitions. They may interpret such a statement as violating policies against harassment or violent speech, even if it’s rhetorical or satirical. If a platform bans you for it, it’s not a legal issue but an enforcement of their community guidelines.

OK then. But I can't tell you how many times I've said something that offended someone that wasn't at all offensive, and once I explained ENGLISH to them, grammar, and at times even word definitions, they often recanted and at times, even apologize. 

Anyway, time will tell what happens with this one, this time.

Compiled with aid of ChatGPT and Ignorance

Who is Dragon Boxer?

First up, Have a great Veteran's Day! To all us vets, Thanks! Go out and find one vet during your day today and simply say, "Thanks!" 

Then find one politician who didn't use enough politics, what they are elected FOR, and who found us into yet another war, for corporations and profit and say,

"Hey pal, do your damn job! War is failed politics! And we've failed too many times on that too many times on purpose."

Then thank another Republican for all these wars of profit.

And remember Republican Pres. George W. Bush took us to war, forced the intelligence into existence that would support yet another war we didn't need and took us into Iraq murdering thousands upon thousands and thousands of Iraqis for no God damned good reason whatsoever! 

That's not partisan crap, it's fact. Read a book! The information is out there, vetted, and reality.

Now...

Dragon Boxer. The international star from 2011, is back! Sort of.

Dragon Boxer, 2011

Who is Dragon Boxer?

Well, that's the question, isn't it? The first appearance of Dragon Boxer was in 2011 in Europe when I made a short happy birthday video for my daughter who was traveling Europe alone, with her backpack, and her accordion. Paying her way singing around Europe, even touching briefly in Eastern Europe. She lived in caves on the southern Spanish coast.

She lived in empty buildings with artists. She was in Greece during the labor riots when she detailed to me heading "home" for the night through streets with cars on fire and rioting. She called me one night from a truck stop on the French border at 2AM when it was freezing cold and she had no idea how she was going to get ... somewhere.

A truck driver gave her a ride and eventually, she ended up in that cave on the Spanish coast. For a while, she lived in an apartment with other musicians. they would play music in the kitchen and at least once, had the police arrive to ask them to tone it down as other tenants were complaining.

I tell you all this because it becomes apparent how reasonable it might have been for at some point, her spirits to have lowered to the lowest. It was her birthday. I was frustrated in being so unable to control her spirits, her happiness, she safety.

Head Employment Representative Ramon Soliz, left, my self with my first meeting
with Dragon Boxer and, my wife at the time at my exit party from UW Personnel Department

I was in my bedroom at one point and I came up with the only thing I could think of. To take the hand puppet I had been given as a joke when I left my employment in 1994 of over seven years at the University of Washington, in various departments, and make a short video in order to try to cheer up my daughter, off somewhere, in Europe.

This short stupid little video had the desired effect and did indeed cheer up my depressed daughter. I put the video away and didn't think about it until some years later. I brought it out again for a Happy New Years' video.

Over the years I had shown both the puppet and the Happy Birthday video to kids and even some adults and they all laughed. The kids especially loved it. And when they met Dragon Boxer, they seemed to be very attracted to it. I don't think I've ever gotten so much out of a joke gift before over so many years.

It occurred to me that there was something there. And so Dragon Boxer, International Star was born!

I have been in pre-production on my short horror film, "Gumdrop, a short horror" which I shot during the summer of 2019. During that, I asked Dragon Boxer if he'd like to make a short film for fun and he said yes. Thus, "Below in the Dark, A Short Halloween Enigma" was created in 2018.

I mention all this because we have been putting Dragon Boxer to work. He's open for management by the way. He's a real pain in the ass to manage and I don't want to do it. But someone might and that would take him off my hands. And he eats...good grief. Well, that's another topic.

Anyway, he interviewed actor Jason Lockhard who has worked with director Kelly Hughes and is now in my film, "Gumdrop, a short horror."

Actor Jason Lockhart (left), Tom Remick (right) in
Gumdrop, a short horror (2019)

Here's the Dragon Boxer interview:

Dragon Boxer: Hey, so, Jason Lockhart, actor, father, raconteur, whatever, how are you and thanks for visiting and being my first interview.

JasonL: Sure.

DB: We've grown a man.

JasonL: Sorry. You've what? What is that, thing? Over there?

DB: We found human DNA from 10,000 years ago, recovered, reconstituted it, grew it, and produced, a man. Oh, that. Jay's handy work. It was a... ? We'll have to get another one, that one's trashed beyond repair. Only took him a second. Said, he didn't like it. It made him uncomfortable.  New people seem to make him a bit uncomfortable, too. Anyway, now that just makes him laugh. Interesting talent, that.

JasonL: A man? A man from 10,000 years. Ago? Why not a dragon? You're a boxing dragon, why genetics?

DB: Yes. Well, resurrecting a dragon would be stupid. They're mythical creatures and...I'm the only one so far, so... anyway. We named him. Jay. But that's not...it's not what's so, amazing, about, all this. Did you know that synesthesia is like other things, a part of all of us, as children? As we were all once female, we all once had to learn to differentiate, to compartmentalize our senses. We had to be trained out of seeing sounds or smells, or hearing colors, and so on. There may be other sense mixes going on but typically a child saying, Mommy, I can see the music playing," leads to Mommy saying, "No, honey, you can HEAR the music," when in all reality, the child may ver welly be hearing AND seeing the music.

JasonL: I really don't see what this has to do with any...I thought this was an actor interview?

DB: Yeah, you've thought a lot of things. Like what the hell is this about?

[Shown  Kelly Hughes/Jason Lockhart clip. Jason is flummoxed.]

JasonL: That was from Kelly's film I was in, Green State.

DB: Okayyy... You have heard stories from the past of miracles, magic, and so on, all of which you don't hear about anymore, right?

JasonL: Surely. I've always figured that was just ancient people's misunderstanding of things they can't explain.

DB: Right, and so have most people, a reasonable assumption. But what if...what if we were a more simple people? We certainly seemed to have been more passionate about our beliefs. What if...what if witches did have powers... sometimes. Not always, as certainly many innocents were killed in so-called, "witch hunts".

JasonL: Again, what's your point?

DB: What if the brain chemistry, who knows, maybe the entire human anatomy, was conditioned so that these magical acts actually could happen?

JasonL: Okay, but I don't think I'm following you, yet.

DB: Modern physics has learned a great deal recently. And much of that indicates some very bizarre things. What if this universe is a holographic projection? What if we are existing in the event horizon of a black hole or are projected from one? What if we create the universe every time we look at it, but when we don't look at it, it simply doesn't exist?

JasonL: Yes, yes, I've heard all of that.

DB: Okay then, what if we have, as we have taught children that they cannot see sounds, hear colors and so on, taught ourselves that we cannot see magic? Not so much, "magic", but what appears to be magic. Now, what if we found someone who was alive back when we believed it, what if we could access the capabilities of someone like that? What might happen?

JasonL: Wait, so you're saying, someone from the past could produce magic, and you've now produced someone like that? Surely not all of them could be magical and you may have produced only one who cannot do this? How...odd.

DB: That's what you find odd about this conversation? Okay, well, yes, there's that possibility. But I conjecture we all had that capability, thousands of years ago. But we merely convinced ourselves, mentally, socially, biologically, that we couldn't do it. No doubt many of the strictures of churches, various religions, came about to be precisely because of those capabilities and that added, with extreme prejudice, to our ending such marvelous gifts and practices.

JasonL: I see what you're saying. That sounds ridiculous. Both, our rebuke and the situation. As does so much of quantum physics I suppose. But if what you're saying is true, my God...then what?

DB: Exactly. So. Would you like to meet our new friend...Jay?