The moderators of the Animemes sub-reddit have decided to ban the word “Trap”, calling it a slur. Users are now prohibited from using the word, even if they claim they identify as a trap. The mods claim that they’re doing it to protect mentally ill people who think that the word “trap” is a slur.
The word ban was passed down on August 3rd, 2020, with a post titled “Rule 5 Update: As of today, the word ‘Trap’ is now banned.”
The general gist of the post reads…
“Hello, /r/Animemes. There’s some big news today about how we’re working to make this subreddit more inclusive, and a better space for everyone.
“Rule 5 was previously vague, as many users have different thresholds as to what they consider “sexist/racist/homophobic/transphobic content.” We want to work on solving this. Today, we’re introducing a new guideline about appropriate content on the subreddit.
“We’re now banning the term “trap.” This ban applies to the word as it is used to describe feminine characters/individuals, not the word in the general sense. We are aware that the term “trap” is a controversial term to disallow, but this decision was not made without justification. Don’t panic, though – your memes are going to remain all but the same, and nobody is coming to take away your cute boys.”
The silliness of the ban resulted in tens of thousands of comments being made and plenty of downvotes on the post, along with non-stop arguments with the moderators.
However, the mods were incorrigible in their decision, shutting down any arguments and making it known that they would not be changing their minds. This led to YouTubers like Lost Pause doing a video about the controversy.
For those of you wondering why the word had to be banned, it’s because the moderators claim that they’re protecting transgenders.
In the post they explain…
“The word “trap” when used to describe individuals has been controversial since its inception, and even more so in recent years. Broadly speaking, most communities readily consider the term to be a slur. The offensive nature of the word lies in the implication that individuals are trying to trick (“trap”) others and by extension are not valid in how they present their gender. The use and misuse of the term in reference to both characters and people often results in the erasure of trans people and dismissal of their validity.
“[…] However, even we didn’t intend to be hurtful, the fact of the matter is simple: our tolerance for the word was making this place less welcoming for transgender and gender-nonconforming people.We as the anime community do not get to decide whether this word is appropriate, and it is our responsibility as curators of the community to ensure that /r/Animemes is welcoming to all anime fans that are willing to act in good faith.”
Some of the subscribers have decided to fight back by mocking the moderators incessantly.
The Animemes sub-reddit is currently a meme battleground.
However, the pushback for now will eventually cease and most Western anime fans will eventually succumb to the censorship being touted by the Social Justice Warriors.
Unfortunately SJWs control too many communities and their censorship extends far and wide, so even if you don’t visit the Animemes community, eventually a community you do visit will be affected by this censorship and you won’t be able to do anything about it.
We’ve seen it happen time and time again as the censorship escalates and encroaches everything you used to care about. Major anime websites like Anime News Network have already banned the word “trap”, and SJWs have been working to get games like Trap Shrine banned. Eventually they will win, because they already control everything.
We saw the same thing happen with Sony’s censorship policies and we’re also seeing the same thing happen with Valve banning games on Steam. It always starts with fringe content and then escalates from there.
The holdouts and free-speech activists are now the minority when it comes to internet communities, and soon they’ll go extinct.
(Thanks for the news tip Ebicentre)