There are insights I’ve learned through my life as a Buddhist and neurodivergent person I’d like to share on platforms, and occasionally, some contemporary topics I’d like to weigh in on for the same reason. I’ve also been encouraged by different people in the space based on what I’ve shared.
Politically I’m a Centrist, with most of my opinions being politically correct; Anti-Trump, Pro-choice and pro women’s issues in general, No problems with how people live their lives sexually or otherwise in terms of LGBTQ. I’ll vote left cause there’s no alternative, but dream of a non-two party system.
But I honestly don’t feel like sticking my neck out in the current culture. It doesn’t feel to me as if the “bad people are being cancelled”, while that does happen, it feels more to me that we’re “waiting for someone to trip up”.
And once you’re out, you’re out. There seems to be no space for people making mistakes, learning, and growing. It’s like we’re all meant to be perfect and there’s no learning curve whatsoever.
And occasionally I like to question topics or nuance views, and that just gets hit with these extremely tribalistic opinions where I’m either “with us or the fascists”, which just doesn’t reflect where I’m coming from at all.
As an example, sometimes as a neurodivergent you really can get far by developing strategies around your weaknesses, but I see people getting torched for “victim blaming” and all kinds of really strong reactions, based on them just trying to help, not at all trying to minimalize anyone’s experience as far as I can see.
So honestly I’m just staying out. Everything I’ve learned in my life has been through trial and error, being wrong and then getting wiser, and I just don’t feel safe in this culture. I feel like everyone’s waiting for you to trip up, and if I was to make a mistake, or have a bad opinion, there’s no chance to grow, it’s just instant banishment and goodbye.
Anyone else feel like this?
Edit: Upon reflection, it feels like we live in a “Suspicion Culture”.
Contra Points would be a good example. She had Buck Angel read a John Waters quote in a video she did back in 2019 (I think) and got harassed so badly she dropped off the face of the earth for a while. I remember seeing an interview with her where she described people doxing and threatening her. But her only real mistake was to not vet a voice actor and think about how it would be perceived for her to hire him.
But there is a real phenomenon online where influencers are ruthlessly doxed and threatened for small mistakes, what might be perceived as “incorrect takes”, and not being inclusive enough. I have followed several small to medium sized influencers on TikTok who have been harassed for similar reasons who have been forced to change they way they make content or stop all together for very minor stuff.
I don’t think I would call it cancel culture, but I don’t think I’d say anyone was wrong for using the label. But there are absolutely people trawling social media for anyone who presents themself as left of center that differ from the internet’s ontological idea of leftism and try to bully them into conformity.
Surely you’ve noticed in the comments sections of every social media platform that exists that people are attacking each other and the OP’s for petty differences and are often individuals who share 95% of their other beliefs.
That is a good example. I’m with you in that I wouldn’t necessarily call it “canceling.” It seems like more of a symptom of several factors: “outrage capitalism,” parasocial relationships replacing real human interaction, and our culture of entitlement and exploitation making people think harassing behavior is acceptable.
It’s a societal problem that goes far beyond how we treat each other on the internet.
I actually always suspect when a progressive voice is silenced like that that anti-progressive agent provocateurs are behind it, goading others on into this absurd manichaen mindset of purity tests and witch hunts that feel more like the tools of the enemy. Not even that paranoid an idea given that we know about the troll farms and bots.
Yeah I mean with things like COINTELPRO in our history and Russia’s Internet Research Agency in our present, it’s hard not to wonder. I don’t think there is good documentation for it, but the rumors floating around the periphery of the internet seem to suggest that foreign agents have been using AI powered bot farms to sow political division and erode trust in institutions. There are also networks of well funded right wing political operators using similar networks to divide the left exactly like you are suggesting.
But there are definitely “true believers” out there that are real live human beings acting in good faith, even if their methods and messages may be bad. My guess is it’s probably something like 30% true believers who get platformed and amplified by the other 70% of sock puppets, AI bots, and cynical actors.
Reading your post helped me sort my thoughts better, what I really feel like we’re living in is a “Suspicion Culture”.
Given the amount of disinformation, propaganda, astroturfing, outrage farming, bad faith arguments, and general hateful rhetoric that’s common on the internet, you have to be suspicious. We’d all love to take everyone at face value and consider all viewpoints, but without suspicion and skepticism you end up being inadvertently being part of the propaganda machine.
You think being curious and reflective will lead to something bad?
If you’re naive about it and treat every viewpoint as equally valid, then yes. The internet is filled with people just waiting to take advantage of curious minds. It’s why, for example, we keep having to fight anti-vaxxers no matter how much evidence disproves them. It’s why Joe Rogan became a friendly place for right-wing grifters. Its why the manosphere exists.
You need to view information suspicion and skepticism nowadays.
So in other words, you don’t trust your own brain to verify the difference between truth and lies.
That’s weird?
When presented with isolated information at face value? Hell no. You gather more information and evidence, research, analyze, then use all that to make an informed judgment. Some questions you should ask when you see a claim posted somewhere:
I kind of get what you mean, but it doesn’t really apply to me or people I know.
If you’re well educated and decently informed you can make an educated guess on the veracity of information 9/10 times before even looking it up and verifying it - which takes a few seconds these days.
I would be very careful with that assumption. People are very good at making lies look truthful, sometimes even sprinkling in a small kernel of truth to feed the bigger lie. Some even make a whole career out of it. it’s not easy to intuitively be able to tell fact from fiction like that.