Thread by @AyoCaesar

So... I had time (Pt. 1)

I had time (Pt. 2)

I guess you’d call this a happy ending?

I'll be honest, I don't know whether engaging with people like this is a complete waste of time or not. Perhaps I should just block and move on, and let people rage by themselves.

But whether it's on Twitter or in my DMs, I am *curious* about what makes people send me these messages.

Because I think it says something about how the internet allows us to become encased in a wholly separate and distorted information universe...

and it encourages us to believe the worst of people, no matter how absurd, because that's what we want to believe. There are times where my expectation of what I thought I'd see (say, in an article) has prevented me from actually seeing what's there.

This is that x1000.

You add racism or sexism to the mix, and hoooooo boy. You're no longer engaging with an actual person or an actual argument anymore - just an avatar of all the things you despise, with expectations of what you think they've said or done set by race/gender/political affiliation.

I get messages like this every day. Sometimes I message back, sometimes I don't. But nobody ever replies - apart from this guy.

Fingers crossed this interaction will have changed his thinking for the better. I don't know how long it'll last, but hopefully a while.