What is BlueSky?
At the insistence of many of my fellow journalists and friends, I decided to take the plunge into a new social media company called BlueSky. They raved about how it was much better than Twitter/X and Facebook. They touted the fact that they were able to connect with like-minded individuals and share in educated and reasoned discussions.
In the couple of months since joining, I was able to connect with many journalists and individuals in the local area. One of those was someone I have written about before: Bishop Greer Godsey.
For those who do not remember, Bishop Godsey has been dealing with abusive, hateful, and bigoted attacks from a collective of people who law enforcement has been hunting for over 4 years now. It started out with attacks on their transgender daughter and quickly escalated to death threats, threats of violence against their family and church, as well as stalking and harassment at home and at the church.
Bishop Godsey has had difficulties finding a safe-space because of the constant harassment and abuse. Even members of the LGBTQIA+ community have turned their back on Godsey and their daughter because of the fear of being attacked by this collective.
Enter BlueSky. Being a new social media platform, Godsey and their daughter thought they might have found a place where they might be somewhat safe. It seemed promising. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community came together and seemed to be supportive and understanding. Then Donald Trump won a second non-consecutive term as President of the United States.
“Since Trump took office, even members of the LGBTQIA+ community have become angrier and more abusive to even people in the community,” said Godsey. “People who were once loving and accepting are now gaslighting, gatekeeping, and being just downright hateful.”
Even Godsey’s daughter has noticed this change. She is a transgender female who does professional level graphic design work after earning her Bachelors of Fine Arts (BFA) from the University of South Carolina in Aiken.
“I suggested that my parent join BlueSky and now I regret it. Since joining they have been called a pedophile, told they are responsible for all the atrocities committed by the Roman Catholic Church, and told they are not the right kind of LGBTQIA+ individual,” Luna Godsey said. “We are not even Roman Catholic and our denomination has fought against hatred, bigotry, transphobia, misogyny, and abuse of any kind.”
Bishop Godsey is now left with a painful choice. A powerful BlueSky creator attacked them as verified by screengrabs provided by Godsey, and then started claiming they were the victim. When we reached out to this creator, they posted that we were trolls and should be blocked.
As a result, attacks against Bishop Godsey and their daughter have increased. At this moment over 160 accounts have either attacked them or blocked them on BlueSky solely based on this creators word.
“MAGA’s participate in these types of dishonest attacks. They shirk away from accountability as is evident in the re-election of Donald Trump after all the guilty verdicts and abuse in the public eye,” Godsey stated. ” I would expect this from MAGA’s, not from liberals and progressives in my own community.”
Attempts to reach out to BlueSky have been rebuffed. We will keep you informed on any new developments.