Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid
This was going to be a continuation of my last post but so much has happened since then it's hard to pick up on ideas I had 8 days ago. The news cycle in Trumpistan is a whirlwind of facts, lies, hearsay, claims and accusations that are impossible to digest. One story can dominate for two days and then disappear under a new wave of news as if it never happened.
The blog is a dinosaur in this Twitter environment. By the time I ponder a topic, write my thoughts, edit and post ... that news may be like day old donuts, edible but stale. The only topics still suited for blogging are larger ideas, wider themes, philosophies and stationary history. That target never moves.
I've been spending way too much time on Twitter. I've all but abandoned Facebook. I kind of hate FB but stay on because it's the only connection I have to certain people. Twitter is where the action is, where news is thrust onto the internet as fast as someone can type a couple hundred characters or post a link. It's not writing but it kind of is. The necessity of economy in writing, something I'm not known for, makes Twitter a unique exercise in crafting just the right words to make a specific point. I believe Twitter use might help you write better sentences if you're thinking in those terms.
Why am I on Twitter so much? Because things are crazy these days and I want to talk with people, exchange ideas and keep up with current events. I'm a news junkie who love politics, these are rich times.
Cheryl votes, understands the issues but hates politics as a daily interest. For her politics is not a game she wants to play. Her opinions are hers and she doesn't want to mix it up with me or anyone else.
My son has a degree in Political Science, is also a news junkie, follows Twitter but doesn't post much. I don't follow James because I suspect some of his tweets are from the schizophrenic perspective on topics related to his delusions. Been there, done that, no thanks.
My coworkers are not people I talk politics with very often. We have ten Trump voters in the company, two Hillary voters and a few apolitical guys. The ten Trumpers can be divided into camps, the uniformed, the misinformed, the hardcore MAGAs and the those who voted for him for no good reason.
I've had a few heated discussions with the MAGAs and they usually go like this. They will say something cutting or sarcastic aimed at my more liberal views with a goal that's a mystery to me. I will usually ignore them but if they persist I fire back holding nothing back.
"Did you hear that from Hannity or Alex Jones?"... because that's where the misinformed get their talking points... "Is that backed up by any facts? What else ya got?... and I wait for them to decide if they want to go down this well traveled road.
More often than not they only have the one line opener and maybe a second they've regurgitated from right wing media. I've already heard the news because I'm tuned in every day. I have a position and I can back it up. I've been practicing on Twitter.
If they choose to get in the ring with me I will eventually frustrate them, they will call me a name and walk away as if the insult has settled the issue. I'm having fewer of these encounters these days. They don't want to talk politics with me because I disagree with almost everything they believe.
The uninformed Trump voter also watches Fox News but they're not interested in talking politics. Like Cheryl it's not their game. On the rare occasion they do decide to discuss issues their limited knowledge is soon apparent and I let the chat fade. It's like talking to a seven year old.
I barely speak to many of my coworkers. I keep it strictly business with half the company. Those I maintain a dialogue with stay away from hot topics and keep it light, "Did you have a good weekend?" We'll talk about our families and work issues but rarely for more than a few minutes.
I share an office with an apolitical but I know if he did vote it would have been an unenthusiastic Trump vote. I talk with him about all sorts of things but nothing too heavy. His wife is schizophrenic so we have that in common. He doesn't want to hear my politics.
In my little world in Tempe I don't have people to discuss the events of the day. I take to Twitter and listen to podcast after podcast to fill my head with news and information. It's sometimes a lonely existence. I refer to my earbuds as isolation pods.
Listening to Pod Save America or some other podcast keeps me sane in an otherwise boring day. We haven't been busy in years and since I work with automated machines I have idle hands on and off all day. Twitter and podcasts fill that void. It beats talking to Trump supporters, some of whom have absurd if not abhorrent views polar opposite of my own.
I've heard racism, sexism, homophobia and a lot of xenophobic bullshit aimed at immigrants and Muslims. I've jumped in with pointed rebuttals many times but I've grown weary of saying the things I find obvious but they find foreign. It's not like I'm changing minds.
I've taken the 'some things are better left unsaid' approach to the workplace. There's no point in debating my coworkers. We are of different minds and no words will convince one the other is right.
That's not going to happen on Twitter either but at least there's a marketplace of ideas and opinions to be consumed and commented on. I can ignore or engage as I please in small bites between podcasts and reading news online.
On Twitter things are rarely left unsaid. I'm a troll as much as a commenter. Twitter brings out the worst in me when I read something I find offensive or ignorant. I like mixing it up with MAGATS, as I call them online, to see if I can get a reaction. It's not pretty but I enjoy sparring. It makes me feel I'm in the game rather than in my isolation zone.