I've mostly ignored their posts and moved on as they were general social media shares and not specifically related to me. I did respond to one person who was promoting a "burn your masks" event not long ago. I suggested that the virus is our enemy and not each other and that we should do whatever we can to "fight" it. She basically replied with "the virus is a hoax" argument and sent me several links (which I ignored for my sanity). Several months ago I saw her complaining about our Virginia Governor getting caught in a situation without a mask, but you never hear her complaining that Trump isn't wearing one. I noticed last week she was sharing something about being censored because something she posted recently had been flagged and removed. She seems to be a major spreader of these conspiracies, so I thought that was a good thing. The other week my brother-in-law posted something about about liberals not liking investigations now that Hunter Biden is being investigated. It was after this that the trend to "own the Libs" came sharply into focus for me, even though I'd been aware of it before this. Last night, a high school friend posted something about Democrats lying, but I scrolled past it without paying too much attention.
I've debated about unfriending some of these people (excluding family) and I did unfriend a few acquaintances who I don't know that well that are more friends of friends. Part of me hopes that somehow at least a few of these folks will somehow be swayed by my example, but that's probably wishful thinking on my part. I've done my best to try to focus on unity rather than division, facts over conspiracy. and the better parts of human nature over the worst.
@melmystery, don't forget to flag these kind of posts so social media can remove them. If more and more people do it Facebook, Youtube etc. have to act upon it. Now with QAnon etc. gaining steam it is clear that the online giants cannot sit by idly anymore. Twitter already does something against hate speech, unfounded accusations etc. We can force the rest to do this as well.
@melmystery Your observations affirm mine. Just as "you must watch CNN" comes straight out of Trump's mouth, so does "the virus is a hoax." Your debate about unfriending is one I'm grappling with too. I did unfriend one who's profanity was just over the top, but I delayed my decision until after the election. The bottom line truth for me is, some of these people are ones I've known since the 50's, but they revealed a kind of racism I just cannot stomach. I'm leaning for cutting them off since I'm too old to have to see it anymore. As for hoping that they will change their thinking, John Dean in his book Conservatives Without Conscience describes an authoritarian as someone who follows a cult like leader and is incapable of seeing the truth no matter how much evidence is piled up in front of them. His book is based on a ton of academic research on authoritarians. It might need to be updated, but it sure did stick with me. Anyway, thank you for your response.
@seeker4 A good companion piece to that book would be Sarah Kendzior's "Hiding in Plain Sight." She is an expert in authoritarian regimes, and has been spot on about the fascist goldfish and his administration for four years. Her podcast Gaslit Nation should be required listening for everyone in the fight against rising autocracy.
A third of my clientele was pulled into the save the children version of Q. Many also fell for the Plandemic propaganda.
I found I could only stand up and speak about what was truth. Yet, does it keep me on track for what I need to do and accomplish? Not really, I convinced a few to open their minds but for the most part it turns into a waste of energy, and a burden.
My rule now is stay in my group and do not promote such things or move on to where you are more comfortable.
The truth is, it’s hard to stay focused on my work, if I am considering how I feel about others.
I thought about flagging the conspiracy ones. While your flagging is supposedly anonymous, I still worry they might know who flagged their post. It's one thing to flag a total stranger online, but quite another to flag someone you might run into socially or who you might have been on better terms with before 2016.
@melmystery, I get that I do, but unless you fear them, I'd still do it. Otherwise this insanity will never stop. There are several projects coming off the ground to stop the spread of misinformation by Russian trolls. However, unlike in 2016, it seems most of the misinformation stems from American sources nowadays. Gotta start somewhere to stop this infection ;-)
My visions after my meditation this morning:
I have somehow a bad feeling about Halloween , I am not sure if it is US, it might be, I am just feeling sad and pain on my chest, and I saw the full moon bleeding. And I had it cold, very cold....and I hear hard noices like explosions...
Anyone els have any chills about Halloween, as said might be not US
I was doing my go to sleep meditation, it is here 10:30 pm...