….all these vignettes about good things happening between any ethnic, cultural, religious, racial identity group?
Yes, we are in a political season–actually we’ve been in this season for a long time, far too long. (If you are a candidate and propose an amendment that says the election process can be no longer than it takes to grow a baby, by god, I’m with you ). So over this long primary season people use their FB page to score points in favor of the party/person/ideology they back. My own personal tally is that the ad hominem attacks come more from the progressives than they do the conservative. But then I tend to be friends with those who are more progressive, so that is what I see–go figure! These ad hominem attacks have the unfortunate effect of stifling conversation and creating a bullying environment. How sad.
I spend far too much time on Facebook. I use it as slosh time–a time wasters because I am not prepared or ready to do what I need to do. I ‘slosh’ about in other peoples highlights of their lives or their thinking. It is more interesting and far more mind numbing than solitaire. Sometimes the postings are just banal and other times illuminating in that it points up one of two things. Either the posting show how people want to be seen to the world outside. Or the postings illustrate how individuals think, what they believe, what they are willing to say or comment on for their belief system.
I’m not good at the 140 character thing. I don’t want to get trapped in another social media program, far too many are out there, so I use Facebook. And here’s what I wonder. Why are there all these posting about when good things happen, especially when it is between black and white, muslin or jew? Why? And I must add, I see this more profoundly on the pages of those who espouse a more liberal or progressive ideology. It’s almost like they are saying “See, we can love one another. See, this story right here proves it. It proves we are right.” And I think of Shakespeare and the ‘protesting too much’.
And I wonder if that is some deep guilt [silly me] because the progressive policies of the last sixty years are not working–see Baltimore, Chicago, Fergueson. At the beginning of this year black unemployment was at 8.3%. While white unemployment is 4.5%, Hispanic unemployment is 6.3% and Asian unemployment is 4%. Labor participation rate is the lowest its been in 40 years. Lowest is not a good number in this case.
Right now the argument on the conservative side is that relations between identity groups is the worse it has ever been. The narrative on the progressive side is it’s not as bad as you think if we could just control guns and the police. If there was just a little respect for those minority identity groups we would all be fine.
When I see a person post overly much that a conversation will solve all ills, that there is all this ‘good news’ and ‘wonderful sparks of humanity’, I wonder if they understand what they are admitting? If things are so great, why? Why do you continually have to single out individual stories? And post these stories, over and over and over. Face it. If you have to keep reminding me, over and over again, that things are great, my bet is no, nope, they are not. So stop posting!