I made some posts about masks and some individuals came after me for it and the fact it involved trump.
I shouldn’t care, but I’m upset by it and can’t shake this bad feeling. I was having such a good day too. Tell me how to get over it because I’m doing a terrible job myself.
I deleted Facebook for crap like that. It’s not worth it.
There’s your problem. Delete it.
Twitter is fine so long as you never, ever, read the replies. Just subscribe to people you find useful. FB not so much.
Hey Jeff. Are these individuals Facebook friends of yours? I don’t know what your alternative social media outlets are, but Facebook is a cesspool and I find myself a lot happier now that I don’t post at all.
I’ve bascially unfollowed/unfriended nearly everyone in my wife’s family because it was exhausting just trying to counter every stupid pro-Trump comment or shared post. At first, I figured a good faith rebuttal using valid sources might inspire some kind of dialogue. Turn out I’m an idiot. They were only in it for “owning the libs” and my step farther in-law even confirmed that he knows what he’s posting “probably” isn’t true, but he likes to rile up the liberals. At that point, I was like, fuck it I’m out.
“The 'net is a waste of time, and that’s exactly what’s right about it” - W. Gibson
I’m glad to read that you posted about masks on FB, because whatever it was I’m sure it was something people needed to see. People will type all sorts of off-the-wall things online in order to get a reaction… things they may not ever say in person. FB is notorious for creating ‘echo bubbles’; whereas in real life you can’t always choose who you run into, FB has a curated feed that is only of your “friends”, et cetera… some people view it as an ideological battleground as well.
To me it’s a question of attachment, of being free from attachment, which is really hard.
Thanks for your presence, and for the things you write.
Well, Trump wore a mask today! Whatever you think of him, it’s the best thing he could do for the country right now (without leaving office).
Get out now. Delete. Your mental health is as important as your physical health.
Someone made a new account with gibberish name and said if they saw me in public they’d shove my mask up my ass. Told me to stop spreading lies about trump. It got closed, so I’m assuming it was was one of my high school “friends” since I was in the discussion with them.
I was originally on Facebook to offer vegetables I’ve grown to those in need, offering to drop them off at their house. I posted this story which somehow made some people angry:
I tried to debate my right-wing friends for awhile on there, and it would just get me mad, because they wouldn’t even argue in good faith and just revert to calling me a “libtard”. And then everything they used to back up their arguments was from Infowars, Breitbart, etc. I would post something from the NY Times and they would say it wasn’t a reputable source. You can’t win.
My last arguments on there was with a friend of a friend. Ex-Navy. His argument for hating Obama was that he moved an aircraft carrier near China to make us look weak. I started to research it, then asked myself what the heck I was doing, this was getting silly.
I looked at all my conversations and my feed on there. It was all the same. Everything was political. Decided it wasn’t worth it and just deleted it. I don’t know how you get over this easily, but it sounds like it’s time to remove all those people who aren’t really your friend on there.
I quit Facebook in late March because this is exactly what I believed would happen to me. I’ve made it very clear on FB that I absolutely will not discuss politics or religion, but between the politicization of mask-wearing/social-distancing, Black/All Lives Matter debates, protests/counter-protests, Confederate Flag/monument debates, Corona real/fake debates, Open/Not Open businesses debates (especially bars), and the upcoming election shitshow, I simply don’t want to see the nastiness of it coming from people I’ve known for years and consider to be my friends. FB was supposed to be a place to connect with friends new and old, near and far, a place to enjoy ourselves and feel good about connecting with each other. But, I realized that browsing FB generally made me feel bad about people I personally know and thought I liked. Before Trump, and especially before this year, I very rarely if ever felt that way about them. The Trump stuff was bad enough, but now with all the other things going on, I’m done with it.
I don’t think I want to be friends with someone who has so little disregard for the lives of others that they will punish those who speak up.
Facebook is definitely one of the things life’s too short to worry about.
Unless it’s talking about how to best wipe it from the face of the earth.
Anyone who’s chosen to stay on Facebook and engage in in discussions like this really should check out the Smart Politics group. Super helpful resource.
Life is to short to debate anyone on Facebook, or any other social media. I try to remember that whenever I get into the P&R page here. But I don’t do Facebook, I don’t Tweet. I don’t talk politics with others unless they initiate it.
You should unfriend and block these people at the very least.
I deleted and blocked someone this morning my own self.
Yeah. This. Keep your farm to community stuff. That is purely wonderful. OTOH block assholes ASAP. Do it for yourself Jeff. You deserve it.
Fuck anyone who doesn’t wear a mask. Those idiots are trash.
Don’t let trash get you down, JP.
Sadly, Facebook may merely be an early indicator of what’s still to come…
I never post of FB but I sometimes enjoy checking what a friend or acquaintance is up to. And some old childhood friends reach out to me once in awhile and that’s nice.
I’ve found that sticking to factual stuff without criticizing the Right helps in any internet discussion among hostiles. If I discuss how the virus can be transmitted by airborne microdroplets and how masks don’t stop all of them but do stop some, thereby mitigating risk, I am not giving them a lot of room to argue. I also like to say how it’s not hard to wear a mask and it’s being considerate of the feelings of others when you do so. I don’t say it’s selfish to not wear a mask. Inflammatory words inflame.
Ultimately, I may not convince them but I may make a good argument for the silent watchers who might be on the fence.
But, there’s a lot of wicked jerks out there you simply want to excoriate. I’ve about bitten my tongue off many times.
Noped out after discovering over half of my extended family are MAGA’s. Trumpettes, if you will. Alt-right if you’re so inclined. Batshit crazy. So like, a couple of years ago.