Weekender 23: Antisocial Media

I'm an anarchist in that I want society to be free from and have the ability to dismantle unjustified hierarchies.

I'm a socialist because I want working people to own and determine what happens to the fruits of their labour.

I'm spiritual because I believe there is a way for us to live that keeps us in tune with the world and its elements.

And I'm writing this because social media is a toxic shit show, full of bad faith actors, terrible allies, and people who refuse to see the mistakes in their thinking. I'm sure, within that, I must be included.

Seeing the left constantly argue and divide is proving incredibly disheartening. For some reason conspiracy theories are prevalent. Part of this I think is because the left is the underdog and people need a simple 'nwe world order' style narrative in order to understand complex and hostile power relations in the world. Unfortunately some of these are toxic, particularly in relation to Syria. It's easy to believe Assad is the good guy because America is the bad guy. That is bad logic. It is entirely possible that not only are the Americans bad guys, but so are Putin and Assad. Surely one's solidarity should go to the people who wanted rid of Assad back in the Arab Spring. What they got was a civil war and a maniac dropping gas on their heads.

No, that is something people don't want to accept. Unfortunately it is a rabbit hole I can no longer entertain. In these already difficult times I find I am blocking people more and more on social media. It is simply not worth entertaining them and their poisonous views. The nature of social media means these people are shielded fromt the consequences of their views in a way that, were they spoken in front of real people, they would certainly have to think twice. 

That's what social media does. It isolates and insulates. People can sit in their bedrooms free from direct consequence. Free from the heat that comes with expressing odious views in front of right thinking people. Our media has made that possible and I don't think it is a healthy way to live. In fact most of the problems that come from dangerous views (such as Pizzagate conspiracies and the like) leads back to Facebook. The motherlode of toxicity. 

And with the likes of Facebook there is a profit motive. These platforms are neither democratic nor neutral. They are capitalist propositions run by the rich and the very powerful and they act entirely subjectively, allowing toxic performers to remain popular while those with a more positive but less popular message are swallowed up and choked out. It's abhorrent. 

This is a venomous weed that we have let grow out of control. Social media should be in the hands of the people, which brings me back to anarchism. It should be run not for profit but for the public good, the spread of healthy interaction and positive/useful - accurate - information, which brings me back to socialism. It should also help us relate to the world we live in and not offer a den of knives and lies for people to escape to in lieu of our unpleasant reality, which brings me back to spirituality.

That is all I have to offer today.