Why Is There So Much Hateful BS on Facebook? Can’t These People Think?
I share this wonderful video because it’s an example of the type of thing that happens at least once a week in my circle of Facebook friends. Someone, normally a person whose intelligence and kindness I had formerly respected, passes along some piece of hate speech that is obviously completely untrue. In response, I routinely provide the truth, and then point out that people of decency and honesty have a responsibility to spend a minute or two fact-checking something that is so clearly calculated to fan the fires of ignorance and hatred.
The most pathetic part of this is that many of these consist of content that is so patently untrue that it really never could have happened. Last week, I got: “Obama signs order making it illegal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in U.S. public schools.” Does that sound like something that our president would do? To the gentleman who posted it, I suppose the answer is yes. In an instant I learned to my horror that he was both fabulously dim-witted and mean-spirited.
I try not to be unkind to people who spread garbage like this, as that would only make a bad situation, but it certainly causes an awful lot of tongue-biting on my end.
Interestingly, I’ve never gotten a single apology, but I’ve gotten lots of unfriends. 🙂 Fine by me.
Of course it is silly to believe that the president would sign an order illegalizing reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, even if such an order would be legal. But did those posting the messages really believe it themselves, or were they posting the messages knowing that they made no sense with the purpose of calling attention that such nonsense existed?
It is difficult for me to believe that anyone would send such garbhage really believing it to be true. On the other hand, I’m not on Facebook so my knowledge of that sort of thing is second hand.
Decades ago there were rumors that an inventor had invented a carburetor which, if used to replace the carburetor with which a car came, would enable the car to exceed 100 mph. Of course it was total nonsense, but the rumor Phoenix-like, was resurrected many times.
It was also rumored, and apparently widely believed, that the Rolls Royce was such a good car and so well made that the hood was sealed because the engine never required any attention.
There are large broadcasters, like FOX, saying obviously false things, but the more they say it the more people start to believe it. Propaganda works like that. I read that Putin’s FSB puts out false information, and lobbyists. Its about who has the biggest megaphone or the most money unfortunately. In the end the changing earth climate will win.
Nicely put.
Craig M.,
That’s exactly the problem with Citizen’s United. If people were not influenced by constant repetition and if they used their brains, then it would not matter how much wealthy corporations spent on political campaigns.
At least a half dozen times a day for me. I couldn’t keep up with fact checking them and finally mostly gave up when literally everything kept coming up totally false or “pants on fire”. Or worse yet, a meme based on an event that is several years old by a disreputable or even nonexistent organization about something that was resolved as false very shortly after the article came out. Unfortunately these people are my neighbors so I can’t reply. I have to live with these people. Nothing I say is going to matter to them anyway.