Some thoughts about the 'culture wars' on social media

[John T Smith]

I sometimes read or listen to the news about the 'culture wars' happening today with a little bit of wonder... the only social media platform I use is Facebook, and that only once a day to see what some distant friends have to say, so I have to shake my head when someone gets upset about different thoughts and ideas and leaves or threatens to leave FB or X/Twitter or even going so far as to say they are going to move to a different country (how many celebrities who SAID they were going leave the US actually DID leave if 'their' candidate didn't win?)
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When someone makes a comment I don't like on FB I ignore it and go to the next message... what I really don't like about FB is the list of 'people you may know' who I don't know... and the random links to sites I will never visit that are dropped in when I am on FB... I am not interested in F1 races or used cars or any other crappy sites, so I keep blocking them and more random stuff keeps showing up... oh well, such is life in the digital age
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I do have to laugh about one celebrity... George Clooney & wife live at Lake Como in France, but I just heard on the radio that he is very upset with the loss by Kamala... he has already left, at least in part, so being concerned about a US election is laughable... he is rich and lives in an exclusive area so the crime and financial problems faced by the average people in the US don't matter to him
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Also, there are the complaints about the 'free' exchange of ideas on social media
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First, Mark Zuckerberg admitted suppressing free speech
https://mccaul.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/mccaul-statement-zuckerberg-admission-biden-har...
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Then, Elon Musk bought Twitter and changed the censorship there to make the platform more equal
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Anyone may post their thoughts where they feel comfortable, but leaving a platform due to a leveled playing field would seem to be a case of not wanting any discussion of opposing ideas... oh well, if your feathers are the same I guess you will flock together
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Here is a comment (picture) I found that I think is both true and funny

[Chuck Uebele]

I have an Instagram account and X, but I rarely use them. I used to use Twitter to follow ULA launches if I was going to photo it. Instagram i look at occasionally, but rarely post. 

I do spent too much time on FB, but rarely post or comment on anything political or religious.  I have a host of friends that do post that stuff and who get all hot under the collar if you don't see things thier way. Many have said to unfriend them if you don't believe as they do. Some I have, not because I disagree with them on some things, but I'm not sure I want to be friends with anyone who is so closed minded. A lot of them are all in their little bubbles, feeding off of each other's similar opinions. I have one friend who was ready to leave the U.S. in 2020, if Trump one. She had talked to an immigration lawyer, but since Biden won, she stayed. I haven't heard of she's planning to move again, but I don't look at her stuff much anymore, as she only wants people who echo her views. 

[Nancy OShea]

Elon Musk bought Twitter and changed the censorship there to make the platform more equal

By @John T Smith

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More equal for whom?  Foreign bots, hate mongers, purveyors of fake outrage & distrust in established institutions? Or anyone who buys the blue dot and disseminates disinformation?  🤦‍:female_sign:

FACT CHECK:  Nobody anywhere is being told to shelter in place from drones. DO NOT SHOOT AT AIRCRAFT!! 

https://www.the-independent.com/news/world/americas/us-politics/marjorie-taylor-greene-vaccines-auti....

FACT CHECK: There is not a shred of scientific evidence to link vaccines with Autism.

A responsible platform like Bluesky or Threads would have shut this nonsense down immediately.  But not Twitter.

It's no coincidence that thousands of global journalists—right, left & center—have abandoned Twitter or that hundreds of corporate advertisers have severed ties to the platform.  It's an embarrassment.  The owner's toxic involvement has made Twitter unfit for human consumption.  If his goal is to devalue the platform, he's doing a great job so far.

It's not a culture war when millions of people abandon a thriving platform.  It's a clear sign that it's rotting from within.

[Ricky336]

Speaking of moving countries, Ellen de Generes was so mortified about Trump winning that it is reported that she abandoned ship and 'escaped' to the sunny Cotswolds in England's green and pleasant land, to live a peaceful life, free from the hatred of the 'garbage' that voted for the right-wing 'fascist'.

What's more, the new network Bluesky has had a windfall due to the defectors of X, who could no longer stand the 'toxic' environment of X.

However, it seems that the new free, tolerant, inclusive Bluesky, is now an echo chamber of rather far left-wing voices, where if one happens to disagree - especially if you are a well-known figure - are 'blocked' if one goes against the accepted narrative.

I would say now Bluesky is a mirror image of X.

This is not surprising though, simply due to human nature.

Therefore the culture wars have rather become 'us vs them' - 'othering'.  This can clearly be seen regarding Bluesky and X.

X = conservative vs Bluesky = left/liberal.

Again, this is to be expected. Through social media, people are given a 'voice'. We want to be heard. It's just that now people can't accept different opinions and prefer echo chambers.  

Perhaps for everyone to get on with each other is to live in a world, where you will own nothing and be happy!

PS Elon in an interview called censorship a 'digital chastity belt'!

By the way, if Bluesky would shut down nonsense like vaccines cause autism, then they should also shut down nonsense like Flat Earth. There is a Bluesky Flat Earth Society. (Although, I guess this is fairly harmless, unlike vaccinations which have proven efficacy.)

[Nancy OShea]

Bluesky is now an echo chamber of far left-wing voices, where if one happens to disagree - especially if you are a well-known figure - are 'blocked.'

By @Ricky336

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That's not my experience.  An echo-chamber devoid of hostility & fear is not a "far-left or far-right" thing.  It's what happens naturally when mentally stable adults control the room. 

I follow people on all sides of the geopolitical spectrum in various countries. I don't always agree with them, but we can agree to be civil and have respectful exchanges without resorting to name-calling & threats.

When trolls come out with both guns blazing -- be they left, right or center, I recoil & block them. Bluesky moderators take care of the rest. I don't care what your position is, be civil or go back to your sandboX.  Simple, simple.

If Bluesky users have a common interest, I think it's to see Musk permanently disappear from our orbit and relocate to Mars.

Musk tanks budget deal & forces govt shutdown

Ask yourself why the richest bully in the world who almost bankrupted his EV company in 2013, destabilized a major social media platform and shared top secret info with foreign actors is injecting himself into American politics? And more importantly, why on Earth should any of us trust this man?

[Ricky336]

Bluesky is now an echo chamber of far left-wing voices, where if one happens to disagree - especially if you are a well-known figure - are 'blocked.'

By @Ricky336

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That's not my experience.  An echo-chamber devoid of hostility & fear is not a "far-left or far-right" thing.  It's what happens naturally when mentally stable adults control the room. 

I follow people on all sides of the geopolitical spectrum in various countries. I don't always agree with them, but we can agree to be civil and have respectful exchanges without resorting to name-calling & threats.

When trolls come out with both guns blazing -- be they left, right or center, I recoil & block them. Bluesky moderators take care of the rest. I don't care what your position is, be civil or go back to your sandboX.  Simple, simple.

If Bluesky users have a common interest, I think it's to see Musk permanently disappear from our orbit and relocate to Mars.

Ask yourself why the richest bully in the world who almost bankrupted his EV company in 2013, destabilized a major social media platform and shared top secret info with foreign actors is injecting himself into American politics? And more importantly, why on Earth should any of us trust this man?

By @Nancy OShea

'Troll - A troll is a being in Nordic folklore, including Norse mythology. In Old Norse sources, beings described as trolls dwell in isolated areas of rocks, mountains, or caves, live together in small family units, and are rarely helpful to human beings. '

It's interesting that in English 'troll' now means something else.

 To say that Musk should be the only immigrant to be deported when he is a legal citizen of the US is strange.

Speaking of mentally stable adults controlling the room, on the other side of the political spectrum, the US has a candidate that has awesome quotes such as:

"What can be, unburdened by what has been." 

"Fell out of a coconut tree."

"The wheels on the bus go round and round."

"I haven't been to the border or Europe."

"I really love Venn diagrams."

...and so on...

....and so we get a new phrase in English - 'word salad'.

"... but we can agree to be civil and have respectful exchanges without resorting to name-calling & threats..."

... so what about Bluesky users having a common interest in seeing Musk relocate to Mars - that's not very tolerant, is it?!

So much for being kind, inclusive and tolerant!

What's good for the goose is good for the gander. 

At our basic human level, we are still tribal  - birds of a feather flock together - which was brilliantly portrayed in William Golding's Lord of the Flies.  

Social media brings this to life in the digital universe! 😁

[Nancy OShea]

[Leslie Moak Murray]

This trope kills me. You guys had no problem with billionaires named George Soros and Mark Zuckerberg. Everyone needs to realize that these guys are disrupters and it is on purpose and it's what people voted for. It's a feature not a bug. Every time Trump does or says something unconventional, like trolling someone on X, we just laugh and say "This guy is no politician." And that is what we wanted. People are sick to death of the professional politicians who go to DC and stay for decades amassing their little personal fiefdoms and forgetting who they work for. How do you think Maxine Waters can afford a $4 million mansion in California? I make more money than a damn senator and I don't have one. And Biden, "Scranton Joe" with his three giant waterfront estates. And Mr. "Socialism" Bernie Sanders has THREE houses. Wake UP.  There aren't even two parties. It's a Uniparty. They go in front of cameras and mouth their respective party lines, and then they all go have drinks together and laugh at us. Mitt Romney and Nancy Pelosi both had relatives on the board of Burisma right next to Hunter Biden. They are terrified of Donald Trump because he's exposing them. He's like a flashlight in a darkened room shining on the cockroaches and making them scuttle off into their corners. He's their worst nightmare because he can't be bought and he can't be blackmailed. We already know everything about him, and have sine the 1980s. he slept with a p*rn star? Of course he did, he's Donald Trump. Nothing they ever dig up about him will ever matter.  Now everyone needs to stop the dramatic hysterical posts acting like they woke up in a Soviet prison camp in 1958 and realize that we are about to witness a great revival of American prosperity after the utter ruin caused by the last administration. Enjoy the ride!

[John T Smith]

I went to a pre-Christmas party last night with dinner and gift exchange
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While there I had a long conversation with a self-proclaimed liberal... no yelling or name calling on either side... we disagree on the current open border policy, but he does say that the flood of people coming over the southern border is such that far too many criminals are getting into the US
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We also talked about the US getting into foreign wars... Viet Nam for me, mid-East for his son... we agreed that the US had no business being in either place, and that the sloppy way the mid-East withdrawal was handled by Biden directly led to US soldiers being killed... leaving needed to be done, giving up a totally secure facility and doing everything in the totally UN-secure city was a mistake
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He likes several things Biden had done, but completely agrees that other things were bungled
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I personally think Trump has made mistakes in his dealings with his wives and girlfriends... but so did Clinton and Kennedy... the proof of a President is what he/she does for the country
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It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 4 years

[Nancy OShea]

It will be interesting to see what happens over the next 4 years

By @John T Smith

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Interesting or not, expect a very long 4 years.

TRUE STORY: Yesterday morning I received an aggressive knock, knock, knock at my front door. Thinking it was a package delivery, I rushed to open the door.  'Tis the season... porch pirates and all.  Ha!

Before me were two nicely dressed women with big smiles on their faces. My first impression was real estate agents or Jehovah's Witnesses.  I resolved to brush them off politely and get back to decorating the Christmas tree.

"How can I help you?" I asked.

The elder of the two women stepped up and said, "We're looking for someone who speaks Spanish. Do you speak Spanish?"

I live in California. Nearly everyone speaks some Spanish, but I'm not conversationally fluent enough to be a translator. Not wishing to pursue this further, I simply said, "No, I don't speak Spanish."

Then she asked if I have any neighbors who speak Spanish.

That’s a weird question, I thought. “No," I said. "Not that I know of. Who are you looking for?”

She said, “nobody… just looking for someone who speaks Spanish. Do you or anyone in your household speak Spanish?”

"No," I said, as I stepped back inside to shut the door. “Sorry, I can’t help you.”

The whole exchange felt off-kilter. These days, anyone can download a language app to their phone to assist with translation. Why were these women knocking on random doors, looking for Spanish-speaking people? 

Just then, a cold, awful thought occurred to me.  What if they were scouts for ICE (U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement), canvassing neighborhoods for an impending mass-deportation round-up?  WOW! That’s so freaking dystopian.

Maybe I’m being overly paranoid. Or maybe this is what we can expect from the rabid Trump 2.0 regime.  In any case, I’m not answering anybody’s questions about my neighbors, Spanish-speaking or not. 

Happy Winter Solstice! 

:snowflake:

[Leslie Moak Murray]

What possible objection could you or anyone have to ICE finally doing its job. Trying to frame it as some kind of tragedy or an evil government is not right. Something has to be done.

[Nancy OShea]

You mean apart from the fact that mass-roundups to internment camps & deportations without due process are unconstitutional? 

[John T Smith]

So are you saying that illegals entering the US is according to the Constitution?