My friend Jim Long (an NBC camera operator) was covering an event involving a group called Move America Forward, and he twittered “amazing how polarizing this war is. now the rhetoric has shifted to calling on war dissenters to leave this country.” Later he added “sometimes the polarization in this country saddens me. i know there is a broad range of political views here [on Twitter], somehow we keep it in check.”
It brought up something I’ve been thinking about lately. I follow over 200 people, almost all of whom follow me back. Those people make up a community. And my experience with online communities when it comes to political discourse hasn’t been all that positive.
During the 2004 election season, on forums as seemingly innocuous as the DisBoards*, the vitriol and contempt being spewed on both sides got really out of hand! In fact the DisBoards, a huge and well-established community, took down their Debate forum, because there was little debate and much name calling. Again, all this on a site where the commonality was a love of a magical family vacation spot.
So here I am on Twitter, with 200+ friends. And I know they come from all over the political spectrum. People talk about politics in a general, non-confrontational way, and it’s all good.
But we in the US have a presidential election coming up. As a participant I hope people continue to keep from nastily arguing politics on Twitter. Don’t misunderstand- I’m not in favor of any kind of censorship, or expecting people to pretend to agree. But maybe we can discuss it respectfully? It can be done. I’ve seen it. I’ve done it!
I guess in the end the benefit of Twitter is that if you don’t want to hear what someone is saying you can simply remove them from your list, a much simpler process than having someone banned from a forum, although most forums do have an ignore feature that mostly goes unused. People just like to argue, I guess.
We’ll see how it goes!
*the DisBoards are forums for fans of Walt Disney World, but a large community has developed there that discusses life, the universe, everything. It’s a great resource if you plan to travel there, by the way!
6 Comments
I think sometimes we need to resist the urge to have the last word in these discussions. If a comment leaves you angry, think before you type. Great, timely post!
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I agree. I have had nothing but polite disagreements with my twitter friends - ones who have diametrically opposing views to mine. I actually like to hear what the “other side” has to say because it makes me think, and I hope that continues through election time without people getting out of hand.
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@Jim great point, it often is about that last word.
@TJG me too! I purposely follow thoughtful, rational people who obviously have a different opinion from mine for just the same reason, they make me think.
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I totally agree with you. One can disagree without being ugly or filling up their need to bash whatever political stance one doesn’t believe in. Two great rules in life: 1) Just because you think it doesn’t mean you need to say it 2) Agree to disagree and let peace live between you.
I’m also with @TrueJerseyGirl — I like to hear all sides, to be informed — but when it gets ugly I tune people out. There’s no room for angry words in my head, takes up too much space, ya know? *hugs*
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Very pertinent post. I saw a bad exchange last night during the President’s speech. The Twitter friends “made up” but one was so upset, he got up later that night to blog about his opinions. It’s not going to be easy on any socnet with this upcoming political year. Thanks for allowing me to comment here about it!
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I like hearing other people’s views, and it’s hard to keep things in check when the situation tends to lead to black & white opinions rather than thought out shades of grey.
This got me thinking- what would I limit myself from saying, or resist responding to?
What I would love to see happen in the whole democratic field to unify and divide up positions prior to election day- put the best and the brightest in position in advance, and hit the ground running- Biden as Sec of State, Edwards as head of Health and Human Services or Dept of Ed, etc. We need people working together, not looking for self-aggrandizement. This is my fondest dream- and what a new political campaign it would be! And it would save money- instead of competing, all the resources go into one pot; more people speaking all over, from the same team, with a more unified message- this would be change.
I know- I know- just wake me on election day.
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