Susan's Place Policy: No Advocacy of Violence

[Northern Star Girl ✅]

Attn: All Susan's Place members:

The Susan's Place Policy has always been: No Advocacy of Violence
    Susan's Place maintains a strict policy against advocating for or wishing violence
    against any individual, regardless of who they are or what they've done.

You can:
    Strongly disagree with someone's policies or actions
    Express anger, frustration, or opposition to harmful decisions
    Criticize public figures and their impact on our community
    Discuss the real harm policies cause to transgender people

You cannot:
    Wish for violent acts against anyone
    Describe violent scenarios involving specific individuals
    Advocate for harm to come to any person
    Post content that could be interpreted as threats

Why this matters:
    This isn't about protecting those in power or limiting your ability to express
    legitimate anger. It's about protecting this community. Posts advocating violence
    create legal liability that could threaten Susan's Place's existence.
    After 30 years of providing a safe space for our community, we won't risk that
    over any individual, no matter how much harm they're causing.

The line is clear: Dislike anyone you want, oppose their policies as strongly
as you need to, but keep it focused on ideas and actions, not violence against people.

This policy applies universally - no exceptions based on no matter who the target is.

Danielle [Northern Star Girl]
  The Forum Administrator

          Susan The Susan's Place Founder
            Web site Administrator

      cc:  @Susan  @Lori Dee  @Devlyn  @Jessica_Rose  @Sarah B  @Mariah

[Dances With Trees]

I'm lonely, sometimes. I'm needy, sometimes. I'm afraid, sometimes. These are the times I tend to drop into SP in search of strength and comfort. Hope. I fully agree with and support a policy of nonviolence. Especially against specific individuals. I am also so concerned that the climate of violence in which I live outside of SP might someday engulf me and my family. In short, I live in MAGA Country. And I am on the verge of articulating a public defense of gender variance loudly and publicly. Perhaps my effort will fail. Fizzle into silence. But if it doesn't, I am aware of the risks, not only to myself, but to those I care most about. I trust those of us who love SP are still allowed to discuss our personal fears regarding threats of institutional violence. I pray we are.

[Lori Dee ✅]

Discussions of violence have never been permitted.

The Terms of Service clearly state this.

Avoid discriminatory language, hate speech, and personal attacks: Our community is no place for bigotry or harassment. Respect diverse identities and backgrounds. Refrain from using language that marginalizes, threatens, or demeans any individual or group. — [TOS 2]

https://www.susans.org/index.php/topic,2.0.html

Voicing an opinion is fine. Voicing a threat — or even a fantasy of threat — crosses the line. The Moderation Policy is that we will remove or edit such posts without notice.

We want people to feel free to share their opinions and experiences here. However, as Susan and Danielle have pointed out, threats or descriptions of violence against anyone can carry legal liabilities that could jeopardize the site, and even if they didn't, they would still not be permitted.

[Dances With Trees]

Thanks, Lori!
You and Jessica Rose do an excellent job of informing me of structural, institutional, and governmental violence and threats of violence against gender variant and other marginalized groups and individuals. I am grateful for that. Correct me if I am in error, but it seems to me there is only one political ideology (MAGA) with the institutional power to put me at grave legal and physical risk if not outright danger. And continuously threatens to do so. And that ideology is led by and directed by one specific individual. Am I not allowed to speak about him inside SP with the disdain and vitriol he speaks about me?

[Courtney G]

@Dances With Trees I think it's OK to share the fact that you or someone has been threatened, particularly in the context of being trans. That makes sense, and it's an unfortunate part of the trans experience.

What's not ok is to threaten any person or institution, either directly or indirectly, for any reason. And there's really no reason to do that...no good can come of it.

[Lori Dee ✅]

@Dances With Trees I think it's OK to share the fact that you or someone has been threatened, particularly in the context of being trans. That makes sense, and it's an unfortunate part of the trans experience.

What's not ok is to threaten any person or institution, either directly or indirectly, for any reason. And there's really no reason to do that...no good can come of it.

Courtney has this correct as stated.

[Susan ✅]

We want to clarify something important, because some members have asked whether this policy prevents legitimate political speech or criticism.

It does not.

Susan's Place has always allowed members to strongly criticize public figures — including Presidents, elected officials, political movements, and religious or ideological groups — especially when those individuals or movements are directly harming transgender people or our community.

You may:

• Express anger, disgust, fear, heartbreak, or deep moral outrage about policies and leaders that target transgender people or our community.
• Speak honestly about what is happening in our communities, including harassment, intimidation, discrimination, violence, and institutional threats.
• Call out propaganda, authoritarianism, religious extremism, and human rights abuses.
• Advocate for lawful accountability, including prison, indictment, removal from office, impeachment, criminal prosecution, trials, and sentencing — because those outcomes occur through the justice system and due process.

You may not:

• Post threats — direct or implied — toward anyone.
• Describe violent scenarios involving specific individuals or groups.
• Wish or fantasize about someone being harmed, assaulted, shot, beaten, or killed.
• Advocate violence "as a joke," "as a metaphor," "as a fantasy," or "because they deserve it."

Susan's Place is opposed to violence as a matter of principle. In addition, threats or descriptions of violence against anyone can create legal liabilities that could jeopardize the site, and even if they didn't, they would still not be permitted on this site.

Bottom line: You can criticize anyone you want — even harshly — but keep it focused on ideas, actions, and lawful consequences, not physical harm.