I'm sure I'm not alone in my loathing of what the political scene has become. Or maybe it's always been this way and I just wasn't as aware as I am now, being on the internet? WHY are people so FREAKIN' NASTY on both sides of the fence?? And WHY, just because you have a facebook account, do you think it's appropriate to post your political rhetoric MULTIPLE times per day?? My 'blocked list' is becoming longer than my unblocked list! And why has it become okay to take pot shots at everyone's religion? I don't agree with many facets of other people's beliefs, but I don't feel the need to make fun of them in a public forum.
I had a nasty run in yesterday with a number of people, and I wasn't even defending my own position. Someone posted one of those New York Times Opinion Pages that basically puts down a segment of American people. I am not affiliated with that segment in any way, but I noticed a glaring inaccuracy in the author's comments and just to be sure, I did a google search to make sure I found an unbiased source stating the facts. You'd have thought I was starting WWIII! I merely posted that the author of the NYT piece should have done his homework, because his statement about such and such was totally off base, and I provided a link. I might as well have jumped into a lion's den because I then became the target. Or people just blew off what I said as, 'well, that wasn't what's important here.' Huh?? Sorry, but if I'm going to disparage a group of people, I'd think I'd want to get my facts straight first!
And is it just me, or are the people who shout the loudest about respecting others' ideas the very people who DON'T respect anyone else's?? This is what bugs me the most. The one thing about blogging that keeps me coming back is that people may not agree with things I post (though I try not to be controversial) and I don't agree with everything everyone else posts, but there is still a respectful dialogue that goes on, and I think it's beneficial to learn from others, and possibly expose others to a different viewpoint. I'm not here to change anyone's mind about anything, but I do believe the exchange of ideas is a good thing. A little respect goes a long way.
I was thinking about you yesterday, hoping it was all far away from your family. Glad to know your neice is fine.
ReplyDeleteOn your main point, I know what you're saying. Over the past several years, I've noticed a greater willingness of folks to take public (and pretty crude) potshots at their neighbors' religion, to the point of open bigotry.
I'm with you - I'm all for open, respectful discussion. Which, on religious topics, isn't always easy to pull off. I hold my own convictions, and I expect others hold theirs. Often as not, we can even learn constructively from each other. We might even change each other's minds from time to time.
But, at the end, we've each got to live according to our own convictions, and we've got to live peacefully with each other. And finding that balance ain't always easy.
Glad to hear you-all are safe, even if it was too close for comfort.
ReplyDeleteNow see, I suspect some of my views would make folks uncomfortable but the i-net is just the wrong place to have a constructive dialog on. I stray sometimes but try to not-so-much.
The truth is that you won't sway folks, only bolster those who already have similar beliefs. Besides, on the i-net you never see someone's face go red and you miss seeing 'em angrily stomp off. ;-)
The ones shouting the loudest are the ones listening the least, usually because they're the most afraid to have their beliefs challenged.
ReplyDeleteThis "Us-vs-Them" mentality is still the prevailing philosophy in the world. We'll never make any progress as long as we continue to promote and practice division and separatism over cooperation and unity.
First, I'm so relieved to hear that your niece was okay -whew! That's some scary stuff.
ReplyDelete"And is it just me, or are the people who shout the loudest about respecting others' ideas the very people who DON'T respect anyone else's??"
AMEN! And I totally agree Eric's comment. The ones shouting the loudest and the ones listening the least, because they don't want their beliefs challenged.
And I agree with you too. The medium of Blogging seems to be much more civilized in people exchanging ideas, without getting nasty and defensive. I sometimes post controversial topics on my blog, but I've never had any of my readers turn those posts into a shouting match. I think people can disagree, but do it respectfully.
Great post, my friend!
X
#1 glad your family is ok. what a sad bit of news.
ReplyDelete#2 i couldn't agree more. what happened to rational, respectful exchange of ideas based on facts. it just seems to get worse and worse. just this morning i got one of those panic stricken chain emails from a cousin about some alarmist nonsense. i too responded with a link giving actual facts to counter the nonsense. i almost opted to "reply all" but just sent it to her instead and respectfully asked her to read it and pass it on to the original recipients if she cared to.
This morning, I was just thinking about how much I despise presidential election years. It just brings out the worst in people. I haven't blocked anyone yet and I try not to reply to incendiary comments either to minimize the fights, but I confess that I'm really tempted to unfriend a few people that I actually like quite a bit. Just because I get so tired of their disrespectful and unresearched posts. But I know better than to try to prove them wrong. People like them will believe whatever they hear that validates their views, and refuse to hear any conflicting opinions.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about you a lot yesterday too. I wondered if you knew anyone at that school. And reading that a third student died brought tears to my eyes. :(
Oh, and BTW- I know the edge you're on. I once had a business trip to Boston that the family accompanied me on. As I was giving a presentation there was a report that subway trains had collided in the terminal where my wife and 2 daughters were to board at about that time. It took me more than 2 hrs to locate them and determine that they had left on a train just 10 minutes before the crash ..... may explain some of these gray hairs.
ReplyDeleteCraig - Thank you. Religion can certainly bring out the best AND worst of folks, can't it?
ReplyDeleteX - You are right in that you are just never going to sway anyone else's opinion. I do make exceptions when I hear a hypocritical comment....I've made it clear to conservative friends that I don't find adultery amongst my own family values, thank you very much!
Bubba - Thanks for commenting! Good point on the us vs. them mentality; sadly, the last time I felt our country was united was right after 9/11.
Ron - Yes, I have noticed that people are very respectful when you post anything semi-controversial AND you always respect everyone else's opinion as well! Thank you for that!
Lime - It amazes me how these urban legends get going, based on possibly one small minority. I got so tired on a Christian message board of hearing about how the public schools do this or that. And when I post that MY kids all went to public schools and NONE of that ever happened, they just ignored me. I finally gave up and quit posting. People only want to hear what they want to hear.
Me - Aren't election years sheer torture?? Between the commercials, robo calls, ugly signs, AND having to read and hear people talk about it, I just want to bury my head in the sand. And yes, I am so saddened by the death of a third student now. We really thought it would just be one and that the others would pull through. They didn't report on the true conditions of the victims.
X - Scary stuff indeed.
I think it's gotten worse, for sure. Fox News is often on when I'm on the treadmill at the gym and they are openly disdainful of the President and anyone they disagree with. I was openly disdainful of the last President, but I don't run a news organization.
ReplyDeleteAs for FB, I don't mind occasional political posts, but if that's all someone is posting, I take them off my feed, too.
I have a couple Facebook/real life friends who constantly, and I think it's safe to say, only post comments and links that are sure to incite what immediately results in nasty back and forth in the comments. I loathe it. I also loathe the fact that I, as you say, with a little bit of research, can point out an inaccuracy in what's being argued, but I choose not to purely because things quickly become a gang mentality. I've started hiding some of these types of updates because, while I respect the right to have opinions, I do not and can not bear opinions veiled with threats and name calling.
ReplyDelete(also, I'm glad your niece was not in that school. My heart aches tonight from seeing some of the victims' parents on the news, and I can't even imagine)
Agent - About the only news channel I can tolerate is CNN. I'm one of those Silver Fox groupies!
ReplyDeleteFADKOG - Thanks for your thoughts and for taking the time to stop by.
Good grief, I hadn't even caught up with the shooting, and your niece might have been there. Thank goodness she wasn't.
ReplyDeleteI keep hearing about all the venom and vitriol that so many deranged people enjoy spewing out on the net. Fortunately I've never been subjected to anything like that, my blogmates and Facebook-mates are all sensible people. I just don't understand what people think they're gaining by behaving like demented rottweilers.
Nick - I sometimes think the motivation for the venom is to attempt to make oneself look better or smarter than others. Wack!
ReplyDeleteVery glad that your niece is safe and sound.
ReplyDeleteI can entirely relate to your desire to block some of confilict-motivated posts and posters off of Facebook. Sometimes it can just be a bit too much.
It's sad. I'm with FADKOG -- More often than not I just don't get involved in trying to bring a taste of reality/fact/balance to a debate because you just know it will not be heard or welcomed. It's not worth the effort. But then, I can't help but think that if everyone stops making an effort... well, that can't be good, either.
I LOVE this post! After my last blog I was really afraid that I would get some disrespectful comments but luckily my fellow bloggers have been really accepting! Facebookers dont tend to show the same courtesy!
ReplyDeleteHi Bijoux,
ReplyDeleteThank God that your nice was fine. I heard about that shooting in the news.
I am currently reading a book that a friend gave me called "The new earth" by Eckhart Tolle. It talks a lot about people's egos(dysfunctional behaviors like bickering and critisizing)and how these attitudes prevent them from attaining any true peace.
We each have the potential for holding out a hand to our neighbor or turning our back.
Flutter - Sometimes I get to the breaking point and feel like someone needs to step and and say, "No, you're 'facts' are incorrect." But more often than not, it does land on deaf ears, so really, what's the point?
ReplyDeleteVie - Thanks; glad you liked my post! Isn't it amazing how blogger strangers can be so much kinder than FB 'friends?'
Barb - That sounds like a very interesting book!
Oh Bijoux, I am so sorry to know how close this horror came to touching you and yours - I cannot even imagine the terror you must have gone through, not knowing whether your neice was safe or not.
ReplyDeleteHa! Do not even get me STARTED on ill-mannered, lazily inacurate, wanna'-be political commentators.. Jeez, have you pressed my hot button on THAT subject! (I still have steam coming out of my ears.) I know virtually nothing of American politics, besides, I don't consider myself much of a political animal anyway, which is why I never post much of it on my blog, if ever.
A couple of weeks ago I had a visit from a fellow blogger I see in my site once in a while - y'know, not a regular visitor, just someone who pops over to say hi now and then. When I returned her visit, I was a little surprised and yeah, a bit disturbed to see she had decided to nail her political leanings to the mast, and in doing so, citing the UK and Europe as prime examples of the horrors of living in a "Socialist" state.
'Scuse me??? Wow, I had no idea. (Nice of my "Socialist" state to allow me to pay huge bucks to privately educate my children then, oh, and not to mention run a successful buisness, too, eh?)
Anyhoo's, she'd obviously WANTED me to respond, by visiting my site - so I did. This led on to her responding to mine with some outragous claims, which then, of course, led on to me calling her on this to produce any source that can validate such nonsense. (Are you getting the gist, here..?)
Thank GOD I don't do Facebook, this one woman has managed to get my knickers in such a knot, that here I am frothing at the mouth even in YOUR site.
Taking deep breaths.
Promise, I'll go away and lie down in a darkened room for a very, very long time, and not come back in here until I am completely over it (blush)..
Shrinky - I am appalled for you! It's amazing how many people talk out of their asses these days about oh....COUNTRIES they know nothing about!!!! Now I want to go try to figure out which of your commentors it is - tee hee!
ReplyDeleteLike everyone else, I am very glad your niece wasn't present for that tragedy.
ReplyDeleteI don't know if it is just Facebook, but I've experienced the same things (nasty political or religious posts) and have blocked so many people that I probably should just close my account.