I was recently banned from Instagram
(hereafter known as IG). I had posted comments on several political posts and I basically just copied my original post and pasted it instead of writing it over and over again. IG didn’t like that, or possibly a Trump/Musk supporter reported it – I’m not sure which – but they cut me off from posting for 6 months. SIX MONTHS!
I was not using profanity, just stating
my strong opinions that the current regime is not good for our country.
It has been a bummer, to be sure, though I have more free time. But the bigger issue is IG is where many people sell their creative items: books, art, classes, etc., including myself. I could not longer tell a larger audience that I had a new blog post up. This ability to just pull the rug out from under us for whatever reason is not okay, and should be regulated.
There was a way back, and I started to fill out th forms and state my truth but here is the thing – suddenly they were asking me for far more information than they should know about me, and I could not see the purpose for the request. Because of the state of our country right now, I was reluctant to give them all that information.
Being creative is something you have to make space for. You invite the muse in and sometimes it involves being quiet and still and receptive.
But it also is nice to share, and this stopped me in my tracks,
I’ve been upset and possibly depressed about the way things are going,
and this was the icing on the cake, so to speak.
I stopped sketching for a long time. Nothing.
When I was doing the larger pieces – I wasn’t working for a few years – I could sketch then drop into painting canvases or large sheets for a long time without sharing, sometimes creating a series, like my family portraits, above, all 3×4 feet.
I got a little lost when I was doing these large canvases, in a good way.
I can’t see that happening right now.
Further, it appears they erased my information, and I have no way to tell
my actual friends who for all I know think I am dead. Mitchell told people,
but there are a lot of artist friends who don’t know him.
Anyhow, I am going to start posting on my blog, and see where it takes me.
I have a lot of things I’ve not posted, and perhaps this interaction will spur me on.
Yes, I am still depressed, but I think that if you aren’t feeling some of that with what is going on then you are nto paying attention, because this is not bout sane Republicans, but crazy crazy taking over our country. Really frightening, IMO.
What are your thoughts? (I hope this is a safe place as I’m not tagging any of these companies, so as not to get the “Eye of Sauron” on this post!)
☾
©D. Katie Powell.
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Note: I was banned from IG until October for political postings.
D.Katie Powell Art 
I love your last watercolor painting. That is beautiful! I agree and feel that I didn’t want to say the pledge of allegiance, but I now realize that the America I believe in is filled with many cultures who built the United States. The story we have been told and are being told dismisses that. I get upset about what’s happened, but I choose to create art. One thing my sister taught me; many things’ is don’t talk politics.
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Yes. I agree; make art, and let the discussions of politics go. I don’t usually discuss politics, but I admit that you will see some political journal art because I am stunned and I take to my journals. I am not posting my actual writings on this whole mess though, for many reasons. So you will soon be seeing all kinds of artwork and fountain pen reviews.
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Oh good!
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Horrific! Thank you for letting your followers know.CarolSent from my iPhone
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Yes. Thank you for following me!
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Good for you! I long for the return of the days where the internet is decentralized, made from individual websites and blogs, rather than social media everything. I subscribe to your blog via RSS, so being informed about new posts is not a problem. But how did I find the feed, if there’s no link on your website? Why is there no link? It may not be your fault at all, as you probably used a ready made template for this site, but in general, I think content creators hate rss because it’s out of their control – they have no way of telling how many subscribers, how many ‘followers’ they have, so they cannot market this information. So here’s a conundrum – you hate the dependence on the social media companies, but you kind of love the the benefits 😉
Anyway, keep posting, I love seeing your art, and best wishes!
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Thank you! I think most of my followers found me through IG or FaceBook.
And there should be a link on my website, so I will check that out! Glad you told me.
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it’s like a bad dream, and to have all your work, photo’s, messages from IG taken from you is so hurtful, to be cut off from your followers. But your followers will find your blog for sure. Keep safe and keep sane. Here in the Netherlands we are all in shock of what the orange man is doing to your country and to the world, I know of people who cancelled their trip to USA because of fear what will happen at the customs when they arrive. And the ones that do go only take burner phones with them, in case they have to hand over their phone and might see/read something they don’t like. big hugs, Shirley
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It does hurt. And about people canceling, travelers have and they should, to be truthful. While so far most of the people detained have been minorities, that could change. I wish this would end soon, but it is unlikely.
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Katie . . . with all due respect, Instagram is owned by Meta . . . what if whomever removed you voted for Kamala Harris . . . what say you. That Meta and employees of Meta have crossed over to the dark side? I suggest you reach out to AG Pam Bondi and FBI Sec Kash Patel filing a complaint that your first amendment rights were infringed upon by a HUGE corporate “master” and that your livelihood is being impacted negatively. Sort of like how everyday forgotten women & men were impacted by the previous administration . . . just a suggestion and observation.
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If Instagram were a public company that might work, but I don’t think it will. Meta owns it and has been banning people left and left and left (no right) and it seems that he can do that. But I will consider it.
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. . . oh, and conservatives buy art too . . . a blast from the past . . . ((( Michael Jordan stands firm on ‘Republicans buy sneakers, too’ )))
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ABSOLUTELY, and I do not discriminate!
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