Facebook got its start in 2004 as a social network meant for college students. Over time, older people began to join, either having moved over from MySpace (remember that?) or by pure curiosity. As a result, about a third of the entire world population is now on Facebook.
At one time, people joined, connected to old friends, joined discussion groups tailored to the things that interest them, posted their whatabouts and whereabouts, shared photos, shared feelings, and a number of other things that I've probably left off. It was a nice way to take a break from the crazy, hectic lives that many of us lead.
Not a big surprise, but politics tends to infest almost any place where people gather, be it online or in person. Generally speaking, that's not a bad thing. We do need to be informed about what our society and government is doing. There's nothing wrong with discussing issues that may affect what we do and/or how we do it. Good discussions are healthy and worthwhile. Despite the good, there are people who choose not to participate. And that's OK. It doesn't meant that they don't care. Many people keep their views to themselves. To be honest, I'm not a political person. Of course I care about what's going on, and I read or listen to people I feel are knowledgeable and reliable sources of information. As a quiet, private person, I tend to keep things to myself. And there's nothing wrong with that.
Where it does go wrong is when you can't discuss a recipe, a quote from a famous person, or your favorite play without someone posting something political, which not only steers the thread right off the road, but angers those who are trying to have a simple, non-political discussion. And they can turn ugly.
The outcome of our recent presidential election was not what many people wanted. In fact, it turns out that the runner-up of the election actually got more of the popular vote, but was defeated by the electoral college. Before becoming our nation's 45th president, the last job on his resume was host of The Apprentice, a reality television show. If you want to read more about that show, click here. Personally, I've never watched it, but I don't watch much TV anyway.
Protests against President Trump are at an unprecedented level. At no time in my memory can I remember when so many people protested against the actions of a sitting president who has been in office all of two weeks. However, admittedly, Mr. Trump has already ruffled some feathers with some of his actions within this short period. (I won't get into specifics here as that isn't the point of this post.) Everywhere you look, someone is whining about the outcome of the election and things that President Trump has done or promised (threatened?) to do. I don't agree with some of Trump's antics myself. As Americans, it is our right to protest, however, provided it's peaceful.
However, in some places, there have been outright riots, complete with property damage, injuries—you know, all the bells and whistles. Hardly what I'd call peaceful.
Thirty-two paragraphs and dinner and dessert later, we've finally gotten to Facebook. As stated earlier, Facebook is a social network. Politics have always been a part of any social scene, be it online or in real life. People sit and discuss politics over Big Macs at McDonald's for crying out loud. You can't get away from it. It has always come up on Facebook and always will. But lately, people have resorted to name calling and insults, often with people they call friends. All because they voted for the "wrong person" or take a different stance on a particular issue. What's up with posts that read, "Unfriend me now if you support Candidate X or Issue Y." Seriously? Have some of us really adopted an "if you don't agree with me then I'm not your friend" kind of attitude? Too many friendships end up hanging by a thread or flat out come to an end over political and social issues. And I'm talking long term friendships in a lot of cases. Stupid and immature if you ask me. As far as I'm concerned, this attitude is a good indicator of someone who needs to chill out and grow up.
Some people still post non-political things and get some good participation until...one bozo gets in there and turns it into a political rant, which sends it over the edge. And because of the apparent inability to escape the madness, people are talking about leaving Facebook. Probably not for good, but it's going to be a long time before they return.
The rants and raves, the insults by others, and the dramatic (or "traumatic" if you prefer) rise of the constant complaining about almost everything that we see on Facebook is not going to push me off of it. What you'll get from me is what I've been giving you all along—bad jokes, silly comments, crazy blog posts, and the occasional insightful observation because it's what you've always liked. How do I know? Because you've told me in one way or another. There's no need to change something that works.
