Photo credit: Roseanne Barr and Patrick Bet David Podcast/youtube videos.
This animal....this beast called social media has given us all powers...powers that many of us grip with glee over one another.
I was on X (formerly known as Twitter) this weekend and I playfully asked someone if I disagreed with them would they block me....and their stoic answer was ¨Yes, I'll block you if you badger me¨.
Well, that kinda sums it up eh? We all kinda relish that blocking muting cancelling power don´t we?
Yes, myself included. I am often tempted to block folks who don´t believe what I believe and don´t agree with my personal views. But I am starting to wonder if that is a tad childish on my part.
Why? Because in the real world, we can´t actually block folks we disagree with. We share the roads with people we don´t agree with.... We share church pews with folks we may not agree with on some issues. We share workplaces and restaurants with many folks who don´t feel the same as we do..
So, I guess my question today to myself is this? How far do I go with trying to control the narratives that come my way? How far do I go to sidestep folks who strongly disagree with some of my most cherished beliefs?
And just to bring it to another level.....if I profess to believe in Jesus, how much love and acceptance do I show towards those I am supposed to be blessing and praying for? Is it possible to block and mute someone on social media and then pray for them in the same heart beat? It is possible to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ if I am trying to build a virtual island where only my own words echo off the walls?
Do I really want to build an island where only I have permission to speak?
Cancelling folks and muting and blocking folks....perhaps we relish it so much because we don´t have enough control over other areas of the public sphere. Where you fall on this issue? Do you let anyone speak whatever they wish on your channels and different social media apps? Or do you clamp down and silence every voice that doesn´t sound like yours? Do share.
Peace,
Carla
