When am tired and depressed and dispirited, it becomes really easy to do things like @-ing the opposition to drop arguments or burns on them. Low effort, quick dopamine hit. Don't have to sustain any kind of effort or focus.
It's easy but not useful, and a hard habit to break.
It's easy but not useful, and a hard habit to break.
That kind of thing I think can be a real weapon in the hands of the enemy. A lot of the "work" that benefits their side does depend on getting people riled up, getting them hooked on the endorphin rush, and just becoming an overwhelming force that makes discourse impossible.
But I don't think that works for us, don't think it can work for us. If we matched them troll for troll, sea lion for sea lion, burn for burn... I mean, we still wouldn't be matching the actual harassment, threats, etc. And we shouldn't.
But even just "giving as good as we get" in online Twitter dunk wars... doesn't help us. Chaos and muddy waters and people wasting time going around in circles serves them. They're in power, there are people enacting their agendas while they're jerking us around.
I'm not in the habit of telling people what to do with their Twitter accounts but I've unfollowed a few accounts that I followed to help me keep tabs on the discourse around the news but which mostly traffic in the Dunk Economy.
The time has come for our anger to be tempered and straightened and sharpened into swords.
I'm not giving myself a blanket ban on replying to Republican public figures or anything like that, least of all because I know I'd slip if I did.
But the question I'm going to try to ask is: am I doing this because it feels good, or for some other reason?
But the question I'm going to try to ask is: am I doing this because it feels good, or for some other reason?
