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14 tweets,
3 min read
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1/ It’s unfortunate that in today’s world of an instant information nation, both the ability to (1) receive info, and ability to (2) tweet/post/publish opinions, that we as humans naturally feel that we must defend/spin/advance our agenda IMMEDIATELY after an unfortunate event.
2/ In any policy debate, there will be exceptions to each side’s “narrative.” Everyone knows this. Pundits who pontificate daily know this, but so do regular people. Anyone who says otherwise is not being honest.
3/ Gun control won’t solve all gun crime. Getting rid of gun control won’t solve all gun crime. Both sides know this, but both sides argue as if that’s not the case.
4/ Being busy with my own life today, I don’t know many of the details of today’s events in El Paso. Most of my Twitter feed is made up of folks that lean right, and most of my information has been from quick checks on Twitter.
5/ But I understand that I am seeing mostly (1) objective facts, and (2) right-wing commentary. Little to none of left-wing commentary, other than retweets with right-commentary attached.
6/ At this point, I generally subscribe to the “24-hour rule,” meaning I wait at least 24 hours to opine on the event/reporting/etc. And this thread has nothing to do with the actual events in El Paso, but rather the [typical] reaction to such event (and others similar).
7/ On both the right and the left, when an event occurs that confirms policy talking points or bias, it’s ridiculous how quickly our “experts” will throw out gut reactions to the story. They claim to be trusted sources for the people, but they opine before they know full facts.
8/ Again, this happens on both sides. It’s easy to spot when the other side does it; it’s harder when our side does it. It’s called “confirmation bias.” What we see as “facts” aren’t seen as facts by the other side.
9/ So when someone tweets or posts a reaction using only right-wing “facts,” we don’t see an issue with it - they are only reporting “truth.” But when we see the same from the left, it drives us crazy.
10/ Is there a solution? No. It’s the human condition. There is no solution. It will always be the case. And the job of a political pundit is to opine, and thus they will always opine, even if they believe they are only “reporting” about “facts.”
11/ What we have to do is UNDERSTAND this phenomenon, and actively choose not to be a part. Retweeting opinion masqueraded as fact promotes the exact phenomenon that we believe we are fighting, and only give more clicks/retweets/likes to those whose JOBS are to generate those.
12/ Anyone who tries to push a policy change, or support an existing policy, within 24 hours of a related event should be practically ignored until emotions can calm and reasoned debate, on both sides, can be had.
13/ It’s ridiculous that I have to dig to find out what exactly happened today. We have thousands of journalists in this country who are paid to give me that information, without spin; but in reality it is practically impossible.
14/ But they are driven by market forces, and WE are the market. So before we blame journalists for spin, we should be mindful of the market forces that we are in fact creating, and adjust our actions accordingly. /END
