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I have to get this off my chest
So of course Facebook is full of people who don't like the election results one way or another. It's reminding me that there are far too many people in this world who choose to be unhappy.
You don't have to dwell on things and express hatred every time it comes up. Especially since these people are the ones who choose to hate popular and/or prevalent things like God, marriage, corporate America, etc- things that come up on a regular basis. They're the kind of people who believe every documentary that comes out and then feel the need to "educate" everyone they know on it. Arguing with them is tiresome and pointless.
It makes me sick. I live my life in a way that I soak things in quietly, make a decision on how I feel about it, and then express my opinions when it's relevant (i.e., by voting) and I do it respectfully. Just because I don't try and sway people to my particular view without provocation doesn't mean I don't feel strongly and passionately about things.
I consider myself a pretty happy person, and I appear to be far happier than these complainers. Is it because I'm idealistic and am investing in working hard, loving my family and being a good person who has a firm belief in something higher? Maybe you can call that being idealistic, but no one has the right to attack that, and I find Facebook to be an especially cowardly way to do it. Even more so when it's a general, anonymous attack.
Stepping off my soapbox. Thanks for letting me get that out.
Re: I have to get this off my chest
I don't think that people who complain about politics are necessarily generally unhappy. I'm great at complaining about various things - politics and god knows what else - but it doesn't mean I'm not a happy person. People just get loudest when they've got something to b!tch about.
I guess it's human nature. It's why newspapers will never have, "Things Were Generally Good in This County Today" as a headline. It's all the misery that really interests people, but more on a temporary basis than anything else.
And Facebook... I don't see it as cowardly, and it's certainly not anonymous. Individuals, companies, and even the government pay attention to Facebook. And Twitter - I'm not kidding. It's just another voice for people, just another platform we've got. And it's a way to reach a lot more people a lot more quickly than standing down in Times Square on a literal soapbox. Yes, people really do that... or used to. Now they've got Facebook & Twitter.
Is that bad? I guess it can be annoying. But individuals having the ability to speak - and to actually be heard - I think that's pretty nifty. I think it's what we're built on. I do get the annoyance factor, trust me. I'm fairly liberal and I've got friends and family members who are very adamantly conservative. So I'm subjected to their rantings just as much as you're subjected to those of your liberal friends'. I may read it, I may ignore it, and if I'm in the mood for a debate, I respond. If I'm not or don't have time, I let it go unanswered.
By the way, FYI, those of us who don't necessarily believe in any higher powers, believe in marriage for all people, and don't unfailingly trust corporate America can be idealists too. Our "ideal" is just different from yours. So you don't get to claim that one all for yourself. It's my tag too!
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I can't agree with you more on this. Ever election time, I dread signing onto facebook for this reason. Very well said!
If you vote, then you can complain -- that's how I think of it.
Its not that I don't care about the election results, but I guess I'm just not as passionate about them as my friends are ...
Good points, Ris. Actually I thought about it all night.
My OP was pretty hypocritical, since I was complaining about other people (not to mention stereotyping). The issue for me is less about people being upset about election and more with people who thrive off the attention of complaining about controversial topics.
For example, my status on FB was:
I don't feel like wading through people's opinions of the election results to find the good stuff...so if something stalker worthy happened to you in the last 24 hrs can you just post on my wall or something? I'm lazy.
One of my "angry friends from high school" responds:
I'm a little (okay a lot) pissed but I haven't had any controversial comments or anything, I think the friends I have that would disagree don't speak up. Fortunately... there's some walls that get nuts out there....
That's exactly what I'm talking about. It's not that I don't like controversy or am uncomfortable with confrontation. It's that she feels like she can't just have opinions, she needs to explain to you why she has them and try and make you either look stupid or agree with you.
You're especially right that FB isn't anonymous (wasn't the word I was looking for...I meant the attacks were general and meant for anyone who might disagree), but I still believe it's cowardly. Issuing a controversial statement hoping someone will publicly respond- you only do that online because you have a good chance someone you know will back you up in the debate, not to mention the benefit of time to back yourself up with information that you can pretend you knew off the top of your head.
Really I'm complaining very particularly about a couple people that I know. I don't think that every political person is this way or anybody who complains or posts about the election is this way. It's just that, for the people who ARE like this, the election is the perfect opportunity for them to emerge and remind me that they exist, which I happily ignore for the most part.
I was super annoyed about election coverage and pretty much avoided FB. I know that people are entitled to their opinions, but when they're rude about it - and when they say crappy things about the President - it ticks me off and makes me block them. I know that our country isn't the best in the world right now, but saying crappy things when you don't have the knowledge to back up your claims makes me really mad.
I'm glad the elections are over. We get some time off before the stomping around for 2012 starts.
Oh, there will always be some keyboard courage happening, no matter the issue or venue.
And I get what you're saying - politics can bring out the crazy in people.
What annoys me most is the ones who just follow the party line, parroting back the sounds bites they hear from their favored politicians or radio talk show hosts, without actually *thinking* about what they're saying and being able to back it up.
Like I said, I'm fairly liberal. I have many friends who are conservative, and I *love* debating with them. They're good at it, and it's fun for me, exercise in a way. And our friendships don't ride on it, so we can debate for 2 hours and then get tired and go for a drink and just set it all aside. I also have friends who are so left wing they make me look nearly fascist, which is why I say "fairly" liberal rather than just liberal.
What I can't stand is people like my cousin, who, for instance, said during Bush's presidency & the time of the second election, "We have to vote for Bush because you can't switch presidents in the middle of a war."
OK. So I asked, "Why not?" Her response? "Because it's bad." "What's bad about it?" "It's bad." "What about when a war lasts longer than 2 terms and we're forced to change presidents?" No response. And that's the most she could give me. I'd have happily discussed it with her, if she was capable of discussing it, but she couldn't. She heard Limbaugh say it's bad and believed it simply because she believes everything he says, and didn't think about it any farther than that. THAT drives me crazy. I've been known to be swayed on occasion to change my point of view, but it has to be done by rational argument, not the repeating of someone's sound bite.
The other thing that drives me nuts is the mudslinging. The false mudslinging. There are those emails going around about how some politician did this or that... and every 4 years I get the SAME email, only now it's claiming that the politician running in THIS election did whatever it is that's claimed. And I'll get the same email from both sides! During the Clinton years, it claimed that Clinton did whatever it was... then it'll claim that Bush did it... then it'll claim that Obama did it. Doesn't even matter what party, doesn't matter what year, the same stuff is recycled with new names, and people just blindly forward this crap and take it as gospel without even checking snopes.com, which would take all of two seconds. The dissemination of false information drives me up the wall.
It's THOSE people who annoy the crap out of me, on FB and elsewhere. All you have to do is THINK and I'll get along with you, no matter what side of the fence you're on. But damnit, THINK.
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Agreed. I also thoroughly enjoy intelligent debates, I just prefer in person and one on one. Most interesting place- a casino at 1 a.m. with one of H's friends. The topic was health care reform (before it passed, July of 09). Neither of us backed down, and we're still friends, and it was totally exhilarating!
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