Does Facebook Promote Stupidity & Intolerance?

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words and sometimes a picture needs a thousand words to explain its meaning but don’t ask me to tell how to distinguish between the two.

I am not sure I am smart enough to understand it or capable of describing it in a way you can follow.

Hell, if you believe what others say I am a middle aged white man which automatically means I am part of a class of oppressors who can’t possibly understand how good we have it and how bad others live.

Those that subscribe to this particular way of thinking have a term they use as a cudgel to try and enforce silence, it is called privilege and if you have it then you are not allowed to speak on certain topics because you just don’t understand.

 

I often refuse to engage with the people that promote these discussions because in an effort to promote tolerance they are intolerant of others whose perspective isn’t the same as their own.

If you have read this far and want to know what I think I’ll tell you I worry more about class than color because if you have money you have access to more than those that do not and having been on both sides of that fence I know something about it.

But I am not going to tell you about having to give up my house or how I went without health insurance so I could put food on the table and a roof over our heads because this post isn’t about that.

Does Facebook Promote Stupidity & Intolerance?

Sometimes I miss the good old days when the worst I experienced on Facebook was being poked, having a sheep thrown at me or the 10 million requests to help build someone’s farm.

That’s because now it feels like a significant part of my feed is some angry status update about how stupid someone is or are.

If you like Sneetches with stars you are a rich bigot and if you like them without you are a poor fool. Of course it doesn’t matter because if you read a bit further you’ll discover that anyone who likes Sneetches with stars and without is a racist buffoon.

Both or neither could be true, just keep reading and you are guaranteed to read a scholarly document that was likely unvetted but shared because it looks professional that will clear things up for everyone.

Many years ago I worked as a youth director for kids ranging in age from 10-18.

We used to organize a wide variety of activities for the kids that ranged from stuff that was just fun to things that were supposed to be fun and educational.

One of the goals was to give them a safe place they could go to after school. A place where they would have access to adults they trusted and could approach with questions they might not be willing to ask their parents about.

Sometimes I wonder what happened to some of those kids, like the 17-year-old girl who told me her mother said she could get pregnant by swallowing a boy.

If it hadn’t been for some of the other teenage girls I don’t know if I would have gotten drawn into that conversation, but the girl who had the mother with the oral advice was being bullied by several others.

That’s because when she told them what mom had said the others told her that her mom was an idiot and it just got uglier from there.

I look back at that moment as the time when I realized how mean girls could be to other girls, including those they called friend.

It is probably a good thing that Facebook didn’t exist then, I hate to think about what those girls might have done.

It is probably a good thing that Facebook didn't exist then, I hate to think about what those girls might have done.Click To Tweet

Sometimes I think about the Mighty Search Engine Gods and all the time I used to spend praying to them to help me blow this sucker up and make it a mighty success.

I put in a lot of hours trying to turn this joint into something more but it never has quite hit the heights I hoped it would.

Most days I am good with that because overall it has served my needs and made me pretty happy but there are moments where I ask myself if that is an honest answer.

Moments where I ask if I have just given up or grown into something and someone else.

Part of it is because I tell the kids that if they want something they have to be willing to work hard for it and to go the extra mile.

I have told them that nothing comes easy and that there is merit in having a good work ethic, one that allows you to take those extra steps to try to distinguish yourself from the average Joe who just does fair work.

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The thing about blogging and writing in general is you never know for certain what is going to be a hit and what is going to be a bust.

Sometimes people love the post that you thought was just ok and sometimes the one you think is outstanding is considered to be awful.

Been five years since grandma died, more than that since my grandfather told me that my grandma had a great ass for a woman in her nineties.

Always meant to share some of my fiction with them, something like this maybe but it never did happen. The how and why isn’t important.

Grandma would have liked the idea of using Facebook to stay in touch with family/friends but she would have hated the politics and rhetoric.

She told me she wouldn’t tell me how to be a dad, but I can guarantee she would have told grandpa what sort of advice she thought I needed.

I’d write more about them but I have to go update Facebook, people need to know that tin foil hats are a sign of intelligence.

• Saved: Children, Life