A new petition created by Lilith Frammington calls for YouTuber Richard C. Meyer, who runs the Diversity & Comics channel to have his Social Security number revoked by the United States government.
The petition specifically calls for the United States government to stop Richard Meyer from speaking, “we want to stop him from saying the things he says on Youtube about comic books.”
It goes on to declare the only way to stop Meyer from doing so is to revoke his Social Security Number:
“If the United States government revokes his Social Security Number, he will not be able to have bank accounts or jobs. His SSN could be given to a marginalized person in need, like a young Hispanic man or a female of Uzbeki Muslim heritage. Until our society progresses to have a more comprehensive social credit score system, the Social Security Number is our best way of controlling who is allowed to participate in daily life. No one is allowed to buy or sell without it.”
The petition is supposed to be delivered to newly elected New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. It currently only has one signature.
It’s unclear if the petition is actually serious as some of the language appears suspect especially the closing paragraph which calls for people to sign the petition:
“Please help by signing this petition and allowing us to affect real change in the world – it’s almost 2019. It’s not 2016 anymore, so people shouldn’t be allowed to keep doing the same things.”
The idea of a social credit score system in the United States might also indicate the petition is a joke, but China recently announced plans to launch their own social credit score system by 2020. Making the reality of a system in the United States much more likely than what one might have thought a year ago.
While the call for the removal of Meyer’s Social Security might seem absurd, the idea of trying to silence Meyer is nothing new. Last month, Meyer revealed he was the subject of DMCA strikes on his YouTube channel by Magdalene Visaggio and Kwanza Osajyefo. Meyer would appeal the strikes to YouTube and they would both be removed and Meyer’s channel was cleared of any DMCA strikes.
Meyer is also suing comic book writer Mark Waid, who wrote Kingdom Come, for tortious interference and defamation. Meyer alleges that Waid interfered in a business negotiation with Antarctic Press to publish his upcoming comic Jawbreakers – Lost Souls.
Richard C. Meyer was also the subject of a campaign to boycott Jawbreakers – Lost Souls. A number of retailers discussed refusing to carry the book after a number of rumors indicated that Meyer would be working with a publisher to get Jawbreakers – Lost Souls into comic book stores.
This also isn’t the first petition that has targeted Meyer. A petition back in February targeted both Ethan Van Sciver and Richard C. Meyer labeling them as “alt-right” and “Nazis.” The petition stated they were “not wanted in the comic book industry or anywhere else.”
What do you make of this new petition against Richard C. Meyer? Is this someone parodying Meyer’s critics? Or is this a legit petition trying to ban Meyer’s speech and stop him from expressing his opinions?