I recently wrote feedback to Facebook about something that's been bothering me about their emoji feature. Here is what I wrote.

"I've noticed recently, with all the news about shootings, political events, and racial events that people are using emojis to express their opinions about posts. While I understand people have their "right" to express what they want, I believe using the laughing emoji on posts about people getting killed or posts about racial justice is highly inappropriate. There is a difference between letting people express themselves on social media and people using social media to hurt and demean others. Please understand this difference. Originally, Facebook just had the thumbs up feature which was decent because it was straight to the point showing how many people liked a post. Now, with the laughing emoji, it's become a harmful weapon that makes any news a laughing joke. If all we see on serious posts are laughing emojis, how does that impact how we interpret these posts? It reduces the seriousness and the importance of these posts.

That is why I am urging Facebook to take away the laughing emoji or replace it with a less demeaning emoji face. Please think about how people use emojis these days in terms of political, racial, or other important topics. Create emojis that cannot be used to harm the topics of today. Please continue to revise and build Facebook as a serious platform for people to see news without the drama of emojis that are being used to mock people's views."

I am starting this petition because I want to take the necessary action needed to make this happen. I cannot do this alone. That’s why I’m asking others to please support this petition.