Social Media Isn't Very Social

Yesterday I had lunch with a friend who is a few years my senior, but not so much that we aren't peers.  Our conversation turned to politics and we both wondered when and why we as a people have become so mean and nasty.

I pop over to Twitter every once in awhile and look up what a favorite columnist or talking head might be saying.  They are identified as who they actually are.  Not so those who respond. Hiding behind their made up names they become unbelievably foul.  Unfortunately many of those being accosted do the same in return.

Why do they behave this way?  My friend contends it's because they can.  Pure and simple.  Is that really all there is to it?  That they can it's permissible to be not only foul but cruel as well?  I don't get it.

This is nothing new.  It has been creeping into social media from roots in blogging.  Like this one.  For quite some time after I began this blog I was know as Dogwalk or DWM.  I have always, though, tried to be civil even when in disagreement with a commenter or being attacked by one.  I could see no point in being otherwise.

But now. Whew. It has overflowed into every aspect of society.  The media, the celebrity world, politicians including the President,  everyday ordinary people amassing protests, many times over no more than a buzz word.

My friend stated quite emphatically that this isn't her America.  It's not mine either, at least not the one in which I grew up. I shouldn't have to brush it off as a generational thing.  That times are different now so get over it.

No.  I won't get over it because it's unacceptable.  I hope Twitter's problems generating revenue bring about its demise.  I hope people leave Facebook because there are more ads than comments from friends.  How many do you have to scroll through to find a friend's comment? Too many.  I have no problem with going back to e-mail or even good old fashioned snail mail with a real handwritten letter.  I know that won't happen in this era of instant communication, but it would cause people to take a time out and maybe consider what they are about to say.  Even e-mail can do that much.

The pendulum tends to swing both directions.  I hope it has nearly reached the far side of incivility and is ready to swing back.  Before the country finds itself in such a state that the pendulum is stuck.  Broken.  As will be the country.  And probably beyond repair.

Let's ALL Quit Tweeting!!!

Angry birds rule in 140 characters or less!  Maybe it's time for all of us to quit tweeting.  First, 140 characters can rile you but do little to calm you.  They've become so mean spirited and nasty ~ and in many cases vulgar, its hard to read them.

Okay, I'll admit I seldom tweet.  I just don't have a lot of one offs in me.  The only reason I even have an account is because early on I subscribed to everything social media.  Well not everything, but more than enough.

This is not an age thing as I thought it should be.  I say that only because our President isn't a whole lot younger than me.  He is, however, a whole lot more vitriolic.  We knew when he was elected this is what we were getting.  There is always the hope he will grow out of this phase but since he has apparently known no discipline in his life I doubt that will happen.  He is indeed a man/child.

The rest of us, however, could follow suit. We're boycotting everything else, why not Twitter?  Or at least Trump's account.  Let him chirp away but just don't respond to it.  Don't answer, don't comment, don't report on what he's said.  Just ignore it.  It would drive him crazy.  Even more than he already is.  Because he thrives on it.

It might even prove to be a calming mechanism.  It could quiet things down enough that something might actually be accomplished.  Oh my, why do I write stuff like this.  It's all a pipe dream.

This country is for the birds. Their songs are all different and provide nice background that is easily ignored or just plain not heard.  Until they get angry.  Then they get your attention. And now that's all there is.  Angry birds with angry tweets.  No wonder I'm often all a twitter.

Listen To The Godfather!

I'm no fan of Rahm Emmanuel but the Democrats should listen to him when he says 'chill'.  All this posturing and protesting is just making them look silly and sad.  As in pathetic.

Emmanuel has a plan for them to get back into the position of winning if only they will listen.  He admits it is a long term process but the first and foremost precept is to win.  What a concept.First they need to get some decent leadership.  I don't think Mr. Ellison nor Mr. Perez are the best choices but then I'm far more centrist than either. Next they need to find viable candidates to run in Republican districts.  Emmanuel has that scoped out too. The Republicans have already learned how to choose candidates that appeal to the populace and they have also provided them with a vision.  That's why they won.  They had something concrete to vote for that they believed in.  Even if the person leading the charge was so unlikely and imbued with negatives!

Personally I hope they don't listen and continue with their incessant pouting.  It gives the Republicans, as shaky as they are, a leg up. Their albatross is their own President.

Now if Mr. Emmanuel could come up with a plan as good to get the gang violence in his city under control he'd really be riding high.  Maybe you'd even see him on the national ballot at some point.

Nah. He doesn't have the charisma.  But you never know when the most unlikely candidate this last go round came out on top.  Tells you what the voting public thinks of main stream politicians.

Patriots Vs Patriots

Wow, that was some Super Bowl.  The Atlanta fans were devastated that their team could be so close to a win yet lose. Sound familiar?

And the Patriots!  Probably the most disliked team in America due to their reputation as cheaters plus the fact that fans are just plain tired of them, their dominance.

I couldn't help but compare the game and it's out come to our current political situation. Yet it is very different. Let's equate the Falcons with the Democrats for a moment.  So sure of that win yet the ensuing loss.

Then the Patriots as Republicans.  Nobody really wanted them to win.  The difference here between sport and politics is that many expected they would win even if they didn't want them to. Yet they did.

The huge difference between sport and politics was in the aftermath.  There was no violence.  No protests.  No looking for safe places to cry their eyes out.  Just the morose acceptance of a game not so well played in the end and a wait for another year, another season and hopefully a job better done.

The media too was far different.  Around here the sports columnists were mostly for Atlanta yet you would never have known it from the coverage this morning.  It was high praise for Tom Brady, coach Belichick and the entire Patriots team.  As Tom Brady was Tom Terrific you could say the Patriots were Team Terrific. No one was trying to take that away from them or boycott anything New England or Boston!

I saw a few nasty comments on Facebook this morning from those who truly hate the Patriots, but not much, at least among my circle.  They were more excited about the snow that fell in the mountains. The game is over.  The Patriots won.  Next year.  End of story.

I guess the moral of the story is the so called American patriots who won't except the election nor any of the new Presidents appointees should look to football fans.  Games over.  Move on.

Donkeys and Democrats

Donkeys are known to be stubborn.  I've read it's about self preservation thus their refusal to go along easily, especially when it's a human giving the orders.

What a perfect mascot for the Democrat Party.  They have their ideology and they will stubbornly resist anybody who tries to wrest it away from them or alter it in any way.

After eight years of having one of their own in the White House it has become readily apparent that their sacred policies did not work and that the American voter soundly rejected them.  Yes, they did. The voters that gave Hillary the edge in the popular vote came from New York and California, both heavily Democrat. And both having their difficulties under Democrat leaders.  Especially California.

What goes on out here in America between Republican and Democrat neighbors has nothing to do with the larger problem of Washington.  I don't think it is Republicans alone who are fed up with the shenanigans of our representatives in Congress. It has become a game between the parties and the most clever will win.  The Democrats did for years under the leadership of Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid.  Pelosi is still there but Chuck Schummer is no Harry Reid.  Thank heavens.

The problem for the Republicans is their leadership.  Mitch McConnell has yet to show he has the killer instinct to get things done and for some reason Paul Ryan seems to have an agenda of his own which seems more sacrosanct than the President's.

Therefore both sides are causing fits for the new administration.  You know, it's beginning to be funny to me to watch this slap stick. There is so much drama in the executive branch alone it's hard to keep up with it whats more what is and isn't happening in Congress.

I wonder if it will ever settle down.  Out of the chaos I hear Iran has been put on notice for it's ballistic missile tests.  It was barely a whisper beneath the belligerence in Congress over the hearings on the cabinet appointees.  Yet it is hugely important.  Just what does being put on notice mean to this group?

Trump has disturbed the order of things and those affected don't want to cope nor do I think they know how.  Quick on their feet they are not.

So they want things to remain the same.  The people do not.  We have a President pledged to the people.  The question is who will win?