I have a dear friend who became so frustrated with the vitriol on Facebook they decided to focus on their blog. She is a much, much, better writer than I am so don't considered this an attempt to replicate her process. This is more of a good idea so here we go.
What is obvious to nearly all is something has gone horribly wrong on the interwebs. I am fairly sure if I had the time I could gather 100 people put them on Facebook and have them comment on a specific hot topic for an hour and watch them attack people with opposing opinions. Then take the same group and break them into pods with people from each side of the topic. Of course these pods would be in person. Suddenly the people who said awful things about each other would start talking. So why do people say such things online that they wouldn't think to say in person. I don't know, that is why I am asking. I feel like it has something to do with the hate filled prostests we have seen lately.
I really do not think that if you were sitting at a bar with an alt right or antifa member they would suddenly attack you for what you look like or think. You might talk about the weather. You may even talk about hot topics. A few of your friends show up, a few of their friends, nothing changes. So where does the hate come from? You can have 20 people from each side standing in the street yelling at each other but the same 40 people randomly meeting at a bar, nothing.
I am pondering this because I got placed in FB jail for responding to a post that said to me the same as I dished back. The person then reported my post as bullying and FB dutifully removed it and put me in FB jail. They look only at that one post, the person claiming to be a victim, and no context.
My point is the context is the difference. It seems like the most important thing yet most ignored. It is the context that explains the anger, the hate. This is what I want to discuss, with no one apparently since I have no followers or whatever they call them these days. Why do we ignore the context when it seems to be the most important thing? In my example I believe the side effects are minor compared to the benefits of vaccination, another group believes everyone dies from vaccines and they are more dangerous than nitro. The context is an article that said we are talking about vaccines, now fight. This is no different than these alt right people are going to be here, now fight. The antifa people were be here, now fight. We don't like this statue, now fight. Maybe that isn't context, I really do suck at writing and the English language. I guess I am saying if we aren't looking at why each group is fighting how can we decide who is a victim. I would argue in my case there were no victims. We were both there arguing for our side, nothing more, nothing less.
Alright the yard is calling me to work.
Good start!
ReplyDeleteI do believe, like you, that context must be maintained within the conversation. Doing a web search and coming up empty, but a while ago I heard an interview wherein a person suggested countering controversial statues with contextual statues and artwork to explain it and put it in proper context instead of just removing them.
Ah, here it is! (sometimes a re-search is necessary)
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/kehinde-wileys-times-square-statue-poses-challenge-confederate-monuments-180973284/
While it is true that some here in Portland do get into bar fights just because one or another group is present (it's happened here), I do think that this is the minority. Most of us just want to move through our world undisturbed. Keep writing. See what more you dig up!
Thanks for the link. One of my other goals is expanding what I read. It seems lazy to just wait for something to pop up on FB and read that. It seems like such a waste to have such a diverse country and spend all our time with like minded people
DeleteHere is one more article, with much better explanation of the context of the Rumors of War statue.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.salon.com/2019/10/01/as-confederate-monument-debate-continues-kehinde-wileys-new-statue-challenges-the-heroic-narrative/
Argh, wish I hadn't spent all night enjoying a fire. So much good reading but ya know, relaxing is important as well.
DeleteThank you so much for guiding me on this journey. Don't expect the change the world but if I can get my head on straight maybe I can change a bit/
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