I don’t post anything political on my facebook. Not remotely. Why would I? Here are some quotes from one guy who knows me and (I’m guessing) assumes I share his views because I’ve never done anything but smile and nod in his presence. He’s a person who believes he has complete moral high ground. Delusional socialists with very violent tendencies are taking off the mask all across the country, and I have no reason for people like this to know my politics.
This is just stuff he’s posted in the last few days. This is a guy in his 50’s, btw.
“I won’t discuss this like it is just a difference of opinion.
If you are a Republicon, if you support Trump, you are not only AMORAL, you are fully embracing IMMORALITY.
I do not discuss things with the immoral. I fight them.”
“When they come for my people, they will step over my broken dead body.
That and the many bodies of the enemy I take with me…”
“I am at the point where EVERY Republican is just an awful, soulless person.
NO one can support these policies and then say, “but I’m a good person”.
No, you are not.”
“I am narrowing the definition of humanity.
Orange shit gibbons and their idiot sycophants no longer qualify.”
Ya, like you, my facebook is to post pics of my adorable kids and some funnies. I have too many friends and family all over the spectrum and it’s just not worth it. Plus, a) most comments that get the most attention are like what you posted (delusional) b) are like something Zep would post, or c) are so obvious, self-absorbed, or plain irrelevant that they’re a waste of brain power. I don’t need that in my personal life, lol. Probably 90% of the population (me included?) should probably not post about things they know very little to nothing about.
My side-businesses FB page is also free of politics.
*Every single time I read the comments section of an article, FB post, tweet, etc…, without fail, I find myself getting irritated with people. The stuff people write is pathetically sad.
Some members do occasionally contact the Admins to have their profiles removed, often for privacy concerns or personal issues. Sometimes it’s hindsight about oversharing real world details (opinions, location, pics, etc.) that can connect their account to their offline life by searching keywords, Reverse Image search, or other methods.
Sometimes I miss the good old days when I had a regular username, not a name-name, but then I realize that it’s pretty much just the way things are today. Social media and forums are for public consumption.
And, end of the day, it’s not like I say or do anything that I don’t want my name attached to (which is something plenty of online trolls should consider). It’s simply that some stuff could just be mildly embarrassing, at worst.
This is basically how I feel. I work for a company HQ’d in a much more liberal area of the country and I don’t really want to have to explain my ranting against UHC (for example). Particularly, when it’s on company time…
**Or why I’ve called a certain user a moron 537x in the last month (more embarrassing).
Yeah, tell me about it. Now, for a quick derail to my favorite subject…
The silver lining is that I occasionally get to choke the shit out of the dude. His jiu jitsu is terrible. He’s one of those guys who just doesn’t get it, but likes to show up and train occasionally so he can post some jiu jitsu pictures on social media. Like an angry little child, I gently wrap him up until it’s time to get the tap. I’d feel bad using pressure rolling with a guy in his 50’s. It’s actually useful training that way since I’m far more likely to need to restrain someone I don’t want to hurt than smash the hell out of some aged socialist with an impulse to kill me.
I had him in an arm triangle once and was soooooo tempted to whisper in his ear “I voted for Trump”. But I didn’t. Politics doesn’t belong on the mats.
I’m part of a broad but pretty tight social group (aa) . Seeing what people post on fb then walking into a meeting and seeing them in person can be hilarious.
Some people exist in layers and layers of self delusion. Its actually kind of amazing.
On fb: “Your a burning shit pile that needs to be doused with anthrax and beaten to death!!!”
At meeting “Spirituality is very important to me. I feel a connection with all people, and strive to be a conduit of gods grace…”.
It’s downright bizarre, isn’t it? My facebook consists entirely of people I know personally. I don’t accept requests from anyone I haven’t had at least one good conversation with, which is how I came to be connected with the fellow I mentioned above. An alarming number of them are completely willing to put the pedal to the metal with their craziness online. Not so much in person.
In-person he comes across as a hippy-dippy stoner/surfer, even though the surfing’s not too great in the western Maine mountains. He seems harmless enough, if not for direct and unambiguous threats of violence based on skin color and differences of opinion.
Mine is all stuff like that too. Kid pics, niece pics, people tagging me in various events, crap like that. I used to post about training stuff too but I concluded that I’m not inspiring anyone to do anything but meet me out for beers every once in a while, so all of the lifting and jits stuff gets dumped right here.
I’ve given serious consideration to engaging with this guy. Not on a political level, but on a “Hey, what are you trying to accomplish with all of the threats of violence?” level. I decided against it. I’m glad I did. Apparently others have tried just this, and he’s doubling-down. These are complete posts, btw. Nothing taken out-of-context.
I can only imagine the number of crazies our beloved poster-in-question has in and around her circles. I can’t blame her one bit for wanting to safeguard herself.
From yesterday…
“But please tell me again how my rhetoric makes you uncomfortable.
PS blood is a bitch to wash off your hands…”
“And I need to cool MY rhetoric?
Puleeze!!!
You people who are struggling so hard to maintain these false equivalencies are LITERALLY holding the door open for the Nazis to come in.
Good job, be proud, because as people are being murdered en masse you maintained your good manners and made sure to tell the rest of us.
The blood is on your hands too…”
That’s pretty much the same stuff I see from a few people. I challenged one of my relatives once on his meme posting about mass shootings, health care and blargh!!! by asking him for the names and approximate time of death of the victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting that died as a result of being turned away from the ER for not having health insurance.
He responded that I’m a brainwashed asshole that should be ashamed of myself.
One creepy aspect of Facebook is how just one like or share is enough for its users to disclose to their friends their worldviews, usually those which would have never been brought up in a real world setting under any circumstances.
You know, I expect anti-vaxxer rants or “the Jews” stuff from deranged hobos, but it’s very disconcerting when I read them from seemingly normal, college educated people.
I have an amazing talent (I’m amazed by it anyways) to get into conversations with people that would blow your hair back. Just a friendly smile or nod, maybe “Hi! How ya doing?” and the floodgates open.
It might just be because I find people in general to be really interesting, or have some ways that I’m not aware of to make conversations like that happen.
I’m not much of a talker - especially about myself. However, I do enjoy asking people ambiguous open ended questions and letting the chips fall where they may … i especially enjoy agreeing with odd opinions or asking probing questions to really get people gabbing. It’s fun stuff
I don’t get this. I’m a lot more restrained and more careful about the words I use online since there’s no body language involved. What is the point of this unless you’re just posting anonymously and trolling people?
That’s a really good question. I can’t answer for anyone else, but I try to keep my facebook stuff limited to stuff that almost everyone would consider positive. For a while I probably fooled myself into thinking that people were interested in my lifting, but very few of my friends and family are into training. To be more precise, none of them are except the people I’ve met through training. I’ve posted about jiu jitsu two or three times in the last year, but people seem to find that more interesting than a video of me squatting or something.
As far as the unhinged people ranting on facebook, I think a lot of it is just virtue signalling wrapped up in narcissism. And that’s not strictly the domain of outspoken leftists, either. They just happen to outnumber the howling-at-the moon conservatives by about 10 to 1 in my circle.
I think people believe others value their viewpoints much, much more than they actually do. I think people believe they are compelling enough to change the viewpoints of others much, much more than they are. Social media is great that it gives even the smallest person a way to be heard, but that doesn’t mean anyone has to pay attention to you.
At the end of the day people are just flying their flags. All kinds of flags. This is who I am sort of stuff.
It is. Any time I’m somewhere that people are being directed- building atriums etc. Or where there is security I’m inevitably approached by the director/security.
Them “Can I help you?”
Me “Sure, why not?”
Them “Well, you just seem lost.”.
Me " You’re good at this. How did you come to be…?"
Them “I used to… and then…”
Two exchanges later we can be talking about their childhood dog or why metal fillings are a tool of the surveillance state.
