I have had a Facebook account, in one way or another, for over 12 years.

My first account was open from the summer of 2007 until June of 2010. I opened a new one then and kept it open until December 2012. I opened the current account I have then and have been using it ever since, though I have wished I had started a new one on a number of occasions. I usually opened a new account when I wanted to erase my past.

From the summer of 2007 until the fall of 2018, I never had my account blocked once due to anything I had posted. In the past nine months, I have been blocked three times. But there’s more to the story than “Jason violated Facebook terms and conditions.”

In 2018, I twice posted memes that were, indeed, tasteless, but they featured no nudity or anything of a sexual context whatsoever, but I didn’t fight it because I figured that someone, somewhere, could have been offended and I made a point of not posting memes or jokes that fell into that area just to save face and not get blocked again.

Monday morning, I posted a meme. This meme:

This meme earned an immediate seven-day ban due to “nudity.” As you can clearly see, there is no nudity in this meme whatsoever. This time I could not let this stand, so I asked for a review, assuming they would see their mistake and the meme would be restored and I would not remain blocked, which any clear-thinking person would feel the same way.

I received the following response from Facebook in my notifications:

They are quite explicit in announcing that they were wrong and my meme did not violate community standards. So what is the point of this blog, you may be wondering…

I am still blocked for seven days.

Yes, I was blocked due to a violation that Facebook clearly states was NOT a violation, yet I remain blocked for the full term I would have received under a violation. I likened this to being on trial for murder, and the supposed victim walks into the courtroom, proving beyond doubt that the accused is innocent, yet the judge goes ahead and convicts the accused of murder and sentences him to life in prison. Just because, with no explanation.

I attempted to contact Facebook on three occasions following this miscarriage of justice and my messages remain unread, and nothing has changed. Yet within an hour they were able to verify that my post was not a violation, and within 60 seconds of posting the meme it was flagged. It seems they are quick on the condemnation trigger and very slow at correcting the wrongs they have committed. And this situation is completely over the top.

This has been the cherry on one of the worst weeks of my life. I don’t want to get into specifics on that, it’s all first-world problems. But this has been the flash-point that has put me into one of the lowest moods I’ve ever been in. As a lot of people know, in December 2017, I was accused of something I did not do and was almost dropped into the legal system before the truth came out and I was cleared. I almost feel like I’m suffering from PTSD from going through another situation where I am being punished for something I didn’t do, being blocked on Facebook for a meme that didn’t violate terms of service.

I have spent a lot of time looking back at my life from 1996 to 2005 and remembering how happy I was not having social networking and I’m really wondering if it wouldn’t be in my best interest to just delete Facebook and start my life with a clean slate.

I remain blocked until Monday morning. The next time I get blocked (and I’m sure I will because if I can be even though I haven’t violated any rules, obviously I don’t need to commit a violation in order to get blocked again) will be for 30 days, and once that happens there is no question whatsoever that I will be finished with Facebook for good.

Be vigilant out there, kids. It is very possible that you can get taken down and punished even though you haven’t done anything wrong. I have lived it twice in a year and a half, and that is two more times than anyone should have to deal with it.

Thank you for taking the time to read. Peace.

UPDATE

I write this blog update roughly 15 hours before my seven-day Facebook suspension ends. As I mentioned previously, I had contacted Facebook and attempted to let them know that my suspension was in error, but nearly seven days after I sent in that report, my message remains “submitted” and never “read.”

I also learned that Facebook has a rather, shall we say, “unique” way of dealing with those of us who have been blocked and attempt to rectify the situation via the links included on the site that were put in place specifically for that purpose: The links do not work if you are blocked. That’s the most Nazi thing I have ever seen.

A link is provided to blocked users to “report” that they have been blocked without proper reason, yet that link leads only to an error message. However, I subsequently learned, using a fake account, that you can click on that link from a blocked account and as long as it opens in a browser that Facebook has been signed into through a non-blocked account, the link will work. It’s simply disabled for blocked users.

The same type of “glitch” works in Facebook Messenger, as well.

The bottom line with all of this is, to quote legendary wrestling manager Jim Cornette, “a God damn bunch of bullshit.” And due to this, I will be drastically altering how I use Facebook. Rather than being the guy who you can count on for memes or pics of beautiful women in as little clothing as Facebook allows, I’ll be sticking strictly to White Sox news and results and memes that have been Sesame Street approved.

Your move, Facebook.