Thread by @bryanbehar

Here’s what’s really upsetting me.

When I began #Resistance tweeting, I expected vitriol & hate from the MAGA right. And I got plenty.

But for the past 3 months, all the meanness, all the unkind words have come from what I always considered “Our Side.”

Whether it’s being pummeled for being decent about a politician’s passing, being branded “neoliberal” or “corporatist” for saying something kind about a candidate that isn’t yours or receiving crass insensitivity about perceived anti-semirism, I thought We were better than this.

Am I too thin-skinned? Famously.

Am I incredibly naive about human behavior? Clearly.

Do I need to work on tuning out the negativity and not allow it impact my own voice? Yes. Just ask my therapist.

I guess I was just woefully myopic to assume that mean-spiritedness was somehow just the province of the Right.

This has been a huge learning experience. And one that fills me with zero hope for 2020.

I’ll give a seemingly unrelated example.

Today I got a DM from a mental health professional suggesting my terminology regarding suicide was outdated.

My response wasn’t “no it’s not” or “don’t tell me how to speak”

Which is exactly the tone regarding anti-Semitic rhetoric.

That’s it. Everybody’s happy if I make jokes about Trump.

But under the surface, there are enormous fractures within the anti-Trump coalition that I never recognized before.

Let’s hope they heal quickly.

I know most of you mean well.

And that it’s often easier to blame outside forces than look inward.

I get there are Russian bots sowing discord

But no way every voice of intolerance is a fake Russian account

It’s a nice theory

But some may just be intolerant people.

Speaking very personally. My biggest fear throughout lifetime has been having a voice/ sharing opinions/ exposing myself to mockery & criticism. Wading onto Twitter meant confronting huge psychic hurdle. Latelysome have made fears real. But need to keep pushing on, speaking out.

Took me 7 years to join Twitter. Not because I didn’t know about it. But because I was terrified of the exposure to negativity. For years it wasn’t a problem. Maybe because my post were anodyne. Or maybe it was just a seemingly less hostile environment. No doubt tone has changed.

And again, I’m not trying to make this a boo hoo, woe is me lament. I’m genuinely trying to shine a light on the merits and disadvantages of social media. I’ve loved creating/ being part of a community of good, likeminded folks. That’s been awesome.

I honestly think that finding one’s own voice might be the greatest gift you can give yourself as an adult. So is reaching a point where you don’t care what others do, think or say. Guess we all remain works in progress. ❤️

Thanks to any and all, who’ve engaged me in this discussion I’ve found way more good people than rotten ones. The key, and it’s something to work on, is not giving the nattering nabobs of negativity disproportionate power.

2 final personal observations (till the next ones)

1. Having a blue checkmark doesn’t inure me to the pain of personal attacks.

2. Personal attacks I get over.

What’s been really troubling are the blanket denunciations of the Jewish people. That scares the hell out of me.