The Block Button (Case Study #2)

BLOCKING PEOPLE ON FACEBOOK: CASE STUDY #2

In yesterday’s post, I relayed a story about someone I blocked recently, and explained the reasoning for my decision. READ HERE

Today, I’ll share another story. This is a person many of you know. That said, I prefer not to use names. My intent isn’t to embarrass nor diminish the person who I blocked. In fact, I bear no ill will towards this person. I simply decided it’s for the best that I not see this individual’s posts. When I say “for the best,” I admit this means, “good for me.” This saves me both time and aggravation.

Blocking this person (Case Study #2) was a tougher decision than the first (Case Study #1). I know this person better. I’ve also known the person longer. I’ve even referenced the person in some of my articles and other writings. I have genuine respect and affection for this individual. This is why the decision to block was a tough one to make.

This is a terse oversimplification, necessitated by time and space, so please bear with me. The person has always held political views different than my own. That’s perfectly fine. Partisanship, religion, and other beliefs don’t usually factor into my decision to block someone (except in very rare instances, such as Q-Anon crazies, religious fanatics, etc.). I’ve even blocked people who call themselves progressives.

The person posts a dozen times a day. Sometimes more, others less. But that’s an average frequency. Half are about an old war, respecting veterans, honoring the flag, and other manifestations of patriotism. I like some of this, and certainly approve, though I’m not overtly patriotic. I do wish the 5-6 posts each day about how great the USA is would be scaled back a bit, because I think less is more, sometimes. But that’s just me. If it makes the person feel good to post 50 times a week about old glory, that’s his right and his space. I just scroll past most of it.

So far, so good. Nothing to block here. Never even considered it until….

A few years ago, this person seemed to turn down a darker path. It seemed obvious to me this person was exposed to newsgroups and friends with strong MAGA allegiances. This was having an obvious impact on hm and his thinking. He began sharing these memes, links to ultra-conservative websites, and various displays of ridicule often directed at those who have been historically disenfranchised. There was also a meanness to some of the posts. Once again, even though I found some of this annoying, the block option didn’t even enter my mind. Not until….

I can’t point the exact date, but the individual made several posts that were complete fabrications. Not just opinions I disagreed with (which was fine). I mean actual allegations, statements, and reports that were DEMONSTRABLY FALSE. When the person was challenged on his postings, most of the time he either ignored the protest or argued that he believed the misinformation to be factual. Even though multiple people took exception, he stuck to his position that his post was credible. This happened many, many times. I noted that’s when many of our mutual friends began unfollowing or blocking him.

I decided to stick it out. After all, we’ve been friends for a while and I’ll be more tolerant of those I know. Then….

The person began posting very disturbing things. These things had no purpose other than ridicule and cruelty. The targets were predictable: Illegals. Gays. Transgender people. Students. Feminists. You know, radicals. However, what was most cringeworthy were the constant interruption within his own comments about being open towards other people, tolerant of differences, even supportive of alternative lifestyles. Weird, huh? The person professes to be sympathetic, then spreads a barrage of derogatory sludge making fun of various members of these groups. This didn’t happen a few times. It happened a lot, and with increased frequency.

Finally, I broke. It was something small in the grand scheme of things that I saw and read. The hate was probably unintentional. Maybe my patience just wore out. But it was a final straw. I’d seen and read enough. For many months, years even, I’d been exposed to a daily grind of overt hypocrisy. I’d been exposed to a flood of MAGA talking points, all while the person professed opposition to the MAGA cult leader. Funny, I never once saw a meme or talking point or a quote among his hundreds to thousands of posts that were ever critical of the MAGA leader. But the person had hundreds to thousands of attacks on liberals (and people who are “different”).

BLOCKED.

This encounter taught me an important lesson. Whatever someone says (or claims to be) isn’t really who they are. Rather, it’s what they do. It’s often even revealed in that they post. That’s the proof. Unfortunately, we see lots of that.

I was quite surprised at how little I missed the person and the posts. I know I made the right decision — for me.

Next: I’ll post about social media trolls, arsonists, and agitators and how I deal with them.