Hey folks, it’s Sunday March 23 and we will be starting the A to Z Challenge in a little over a week. As you know, my theme this year is going to be the A to Z of Democracy as voiced by Hakeem Jeffries, Minority Speaker of the House of Representatives. I have had quite a few positive comments regarding my choice of topics which has been encouraging. However, I did receive a comment from a blogger that I no longer follow since I realized when #47 was #45 that they had a different perspective than mine about the state of affairs in our country. Even though we had some other things in common, I just could not read a blog defending what was going on at that time.
This morning, while starting to prep for the upcoming challenge I took a look at my “comments” section here and on WP to see if there had been any recent ones that inadvertently ended up in the spam or pending file as will sometimes happen. I did find some, including a few of my own replies, which I rescued. However, I did also see one that was in my trash from the blogger mentioned above.
Turns out they still hold the same devotion to the person currently in the WH and voiced their disapproval of my chosen topic. They proceeded to tell me that they are tired of people bashing their favorite fellow and dividing our country. They informed me that I should probably do better research because my facts were incorrect and “he really cares about” us.
And herein lies my dilemma. This comment was already in the trash so I automatically emptied it, deleting the comment. And then I thought about it. If my intention is to showcase the differences between democracy and authoritarianism, oligarchy or whatever it is that we are in the middle of, shouldn’t I be open to listening to other opinions? I could have responded to this comment by saying something like, “I’m sorry you don’t like my topic so maybe you shouldn’t follow me this year,” or “I disagree with your assessment of what is happening now and maybe you should read my reasons for this during the challenge.” Instead, I had a visceral reaction to just get rid of that person’s words so I wouldn’t have to look at them. It has been my experience with those folks who are devotees of that man that no amount of “facts” will change their opinions. I mean, I haven’t even talked to my sister or her family in months because she defended her “beloved Donald.”
So moving forward, I am torn between continuing to just delete those comments that are from people who drank the kool-aid because I know there is no way to bring them out of their delusional state or to leave them there and use one of the phrases above in response. What would you do?
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It’s your blog and your freedom to speak out as you choose, whether people agree with you or not. Our founding fathers and veterans have sacrificed for that right and we should all exercise it freely.
Politics are extremely polarizing nowadays, and people tend to be unable to separate the person/character from the political opinions/side they choose. If anyone 100% percent blindly agrees with one side or the other, I think our issues as a country are hopeless (in my most humble opinion). It’s difficult to not resort to name-calling ‘the other side’ as being ‘less than’ or ‘not as smart.’ In doing so, it causes more of a divide and prevents us from being able to be active listeners and gaining a different understanding of what we assume to be true.
If I talk to a person at the grocery store or the gas station or the doctor’s office, I could care less their political opinions. They’re friendly and we’re engaging in a kind and respectful interaction between two humans–I simply don’t care what side of the aisle in Washington DC they fall. Respectful disagreements are key, and not belittling someone for their opposite opinion is important to keep folks open and willing to hear an opposing point of view.
I know how much work you put in to the A-Z challenges, so I’m looking forward to this year’s installments, as well.
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Hi Dawn – Sorry I had to rescue your comment from the trash! I agree with you about not actively searching out someone’s political beliefs if we are just talking in the grocery store. I would love to believe that we could all just be friends. I do think that some folks were not fully aware of the extent to which things would change with this administration. At the same time, it does seem like folks who agree with these changes are so firmly entrenched that THEY are not willing to hear an opposing point of view. I appreciate you stopping by. How are you guys doing? I think you should do another A to Z on your life in the RV world now. It’s been quite a while!
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It’s your blog. Follow your heart.
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Thanks for the support. I know you have experienced some less than friendly comments too.
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If you haven’t annoyed someone you haven’t been true to yourself
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Either ignore them and their comments or block them from your blog. It’s not worth the hassle.
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I am not going to allow myself to get too upset and I’ll deal with them as they come up. This first one just kind of hit me.
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That’s a better idea
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I agree with taking them on an individual basis. If someone respectfully disagrees with facts that’s one thing. If they bash your opinion, trash it is. Your blog, your call.
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Thanks Kate. After getting so many positive reactions, this one just threw me a bit.
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I’m surprise you only got one. When I see a blog post I don’t agree with, I just scroll by but today people get really mean.
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Respectful disagreement – agreeing to disagree is one thing and rude bashing and name-calling is another. I rarely see the former. Your blog, your call. 😉
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Thanks Felicia. I think I will take them on an individual basis.
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I remember while growing up my parents got along with mostly everyone. They spent most of their time talking tomatoes or how their vegetable gardens were doing. I don’t ever remember politics being discussed. I miss those days.
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I agree. But don’t you think that maybe if they talked more about it then we may not be here now?
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Not at all. I blame the divide in media. We have media bubbles and hear and believe completely different narratives that spout back our opinions. I do like the fact that there are more media outlets available, plus independent voices. I try to read and listen to all sides and make up my own opinion. I think most of our country lives in their own media bubble and doesn’t try to hear the other side. I have a degree in editorial journalism from the UW in Seattle. We were each assigned to a newspaper during one semester, living at the state Capitol, to be their “stringer” or Capitol reporter. Our college professor sent articles back to us for a rewrite if it showed bias or only interviewed one side of the story. We were told to get the other side. I’m in my 60s so decades ago. Now journalism majors are taught that the ends justify the means and they can insert their opinion into news stories. Now our news has the reporters opinions rather than both sides of the story. This has divided the nation in my opinion. I’d rather not discuss politics, because our views are based on one sided without taking into consideration of other viewpoints.
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It’s interesting that this comment ended up in my trash even though the other ones from you did not. I think a lot changed when they overturned the Fairness Doctrine. Journalists can say anything now and it is up to us to fact check. Some people don’t take the time to do that. I have been following a lot of independent journalists now who seem to be a little bit more truthful. I love Heather Cox Richardson, who is a historian and equates what is happening now with things that happened in the past.
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So I’m the one who ended up in the trash 😅 Just kidding. I like independent journalists, too.
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The way I would handle it would be to leave those comments in the trash and publish any that seem like an interesting point of view on the topic (without the brainwashing).
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I suppose from now on I will take them on an individual basis but this one just hit me when they said they “disapproved” of my topic. What right do they have approve or disapprove of what I want to talk about in my own space?
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I totally agree with you.
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