Politics. My rare personal statement.
There are reasons why I do not engage in political discussion on here. You don't have to like it, but this is what I believe.
1. People are generally fucking nuts regarding this subject and usually fail to discuss the issues, instead coming from an emotional place. This results in ad hominem attacks, threats, name calling, etc. I want no part of this and I don't understand the people who do. It's infantile playground bullshit.
2. The internet. Ah, that place. I remember when it was just a series of bulletin board systems(and even then it could be disturbing). You can find justification for ANY viewpoint, ANY conspiracy theory, ANY wacko idea. Facebook and Instagram are particular cesspools of endless political memes. Is this not blatantly obvious? The often violent rhetoric frankly gives me the piss shivers. How disappointing it is to locate an old friend or coworker who ONLY reposts political spew. That is sadly more of a statement about the person who does the posting. And I need not say this, but it's ironic how easily we have access to information while so many are badly misinformed(or just plain ignorant).
I'll ask these questions, because I truly don't know the answers. Across several administrations now, people on both sides call for death and violence on the current administration. Some of the statements are concerning, like they're coming from the desk of a serial killer. For the people who post and repost: do you think you are really defeating the system? Converting people? Making some kind of astute observation or pseudo-intellectual turn of phrase? And what do you think is going to happen after you post? Your political enemy gives up? Has any regime ever fallen due to memes or bad AI pictures?
No. Two things happen: the people who agree with you say "yeah!" and those who don't think you're an opinionated asshole. That's not appealing to me. It's a ugly, disgusting look that we need far less of.
"You can tell a man from what he has to say." - Neil Finn, "Four Seasons In One Day".
I won't sit here and pretend everything is great. I know it's not. But here are some things I have concluded with the experience of nearly six decades of life.
You will get shit for everything you are, everything you have, and everything you are perceived to be. That's right, if you're white, black, Christian, Atheist, male, female, straight, gay, young, old....you will get shit for it. There are always people who hate those who identify as one from that list. That, sadly, will not change. The best you can do is not hate.
The truth is, I do not hate those who disagree with me politically. It doesn't make sense. It is PERSONAL values that matter to me. Are you ready to reject a good person because they didn't vote the same as you? Can you embrace that someone from the opposite political party would stand by you and take a bullet? Not everybody can. It has everything to do with ego and narcissism(the internet makes sure we have a stage for them)and "us" versus "them".
In conclusion, I avoid politics not because I don't care and not because I don't have strong values or viewpoints; I simply loathe the septic tank where online discussion usually takes place. Usually, someone with considerable psychological issues ends up toe to toe with me and I really could not care less about constant bickering; there's no payoff for me.
A friend calls himself "politically non-binary" and while I won't go that far, I'm no partisan hack. ALL are welcome at my table. Got a different viewpoint than I? I'm not scared. I may not agree, but I'll listen. I might learn something!
1. People are generally fucking nuts regarding this subject and usually fail to discuss the issues, instead coming from an emotional place. This results in ad hominem attacks, threats, name calling, etc. I want no part of this and I don't understand the people who do. It's infantile playground bullshit.
2. The internet. Ah, that place. I remember when it was just a series of bulletin board systems(and even then it could be disturbing). You can find justification for ANY viewpoint, ANY conspiracy theory, ANY wacko idea. Facebook and Instagram are particular cesspools of endless political memes. Is this not blatantly obvious? The often violent rhetoric frankly gives me the piss shivers. How disappointing it is to locate an old friend or coworker who ONLY reposts political spew. That is sadly more of a statement about the person who does the posting. And I need not say this, but it's ironic how easily we have access to information while so many are badly misinformed(or just plain ignorant).
I'll ask these questions, because I truly don't know the answers. Across several administrations now, people on both sides call for death and violence on the current administration. Some of the statements are concerning, like they're coming from the desk of a serial killer. For the people who post and repost: do you think you are really defeating the system? Converting people? Making some kind of astute observation or pseudo-intellectual turn of phrase? And what do you think is going to happen after you post? Your political enemy gives up? Has any regime ever fallen due to memes or bad AI pictures?
No. Two things happen: the people who agree with you say "yeah!" and those who don't think you're an opinionated asshole. That's not appealing to me. It's a ugly, disgusting look that we need far less of.
"You can tell a man from what he has to say." - Neil Finn, "Four Seasons In One Day".
I won't sit here and pretend everything is great. I know it's not. But here are some things I have concluded with the experience of nearly six decades of life.
You will get shit for everything you are, everything you have, and everything you are perceived to be. That's right, if you're white, black, Christian, Atheist, male, female, straight, gay, young, old....you will get shit for it. There are always people who hate those who identify as one from that list. That, sadly, will not change. The best you can do is not hate.
The truth is, I do not hate those who disagree with me politically. It doesn't make sense. It is PERSONAL values that matter to me. Are you ready to reject a good person because they didn't vote the same as you? Can you embrace that someone from the opposite political party would stand by you and take a bullet? Not everybody can. It has everything to do with ego and narcissism(the internet makes sure we have a stage for them)and "us" versus "them".
In conclusion, I avoid politics not because I don't care and not because I don't have strong values or viewpoints; I simply loathe the septic tank where online discussion usually takes place. Usually, someone with considerable psychological issues ends up toe to toe with me and I really could not care less about constant bickering; there's no payoff for me.
A friend calls himself "politically non-binary" and while I won't go that far, I'm no partisan hack. ALL are welcome at my table. Got a different viewpoint than I? I'm not scared. I may not agree, but I'll listen. I might learn something!
