I’m not a political person. Really, I’m not. I’m a head-in-the-sand person. Duck and cover, hide away from the bad, and focus on the microcosm of my own little life.
It was depressing enough with all the COVID-19 bickering. Wear a mask, don’t make me wear a mask, non-mask-wearers are idiots, mask-wearers are sheeple, blah blah blah. Now, with the Floyd George tragedy and the resulting explosion of politically-motivated violence and rioting, even in my microcosm I can’t hide.
It’s everywhere. My Facebook feed is flooded with Black Lives Matter and “I kneel with them” interspersed with all sorts of horrendous news. COVID-19 spawned memes; this is spawning hate.
Now, you may think “Hey, I’m in favor of BLM! I support the cause! I’m protesting for peace!”
The rioting that’s going on nationwide is not peaceful.
The protesting that’s going on is not necessarily helpful, either. I mean, there was a gaggle of Gen Y’ers standing outside Wal-Mart the other day, holding up their signs of “No justice, no peace!” and chanting. A small-town Wal-Mart is where they chose to make their stand against the oppression of “the man.” Seriously? Let me guess: they were too chicken to protest outside the police station.
That’s who everyone’s really mad at, right? The cop that killed Floyd, and the way it was handled, and the media sensationalism that’s stoking the fires.
I’m just so tired of seeing it all. The COVID I could handle, because it’s something people couldn’t really “fight,” so they dealt how they could. I was lucky enough to have friends who are, for the most part, smart enough to see the reason behind the restrictions, and who actually listen to science. The few who argued or pushed their views got put in either a 30-day Facebook “snooze” or on a permanent unfollow, depending on the severity of annoyance. I won’t unfriend someone just because of their political views–unless they’re just really out there–but I’m also not going to subject myself to an endless feed of depression and anger when I have enough mental health issues going on already.
The problem? My friends are more vocal about BLM and the protests. More of the articles are being shared, more photos, more diatribes and outbursts. Facebook is no longer my “safe” place, my place to see memes and cute comics and funny anecdotes. I can’t snooze and unfollow everyone. Then I’d have no feed left. And there are some friends who, even when they’re being vocal about their views, I still want to see show up in my feed. So what am I going to do?
For now, I’ll vent here. I’ll type up my frustrations, then hide back in my little writing hole, where the worst of my current problems is how to start Chapter 7. I’ll scroll past the bad and share the funny and the good.
I go back to work today. I’m sure the patients will have their own strong views that they will probably share with or argue about with other patients–and possibly staff. My coworkers might have strong views. I might be going right back into another Facebook situation, only I won’t be able to snooze anyone.
My mind has been unsettled the past couple of days. There’s just too much.
Now, I’m not saying I don’t support oppressed minorities. I’m not saying I don’t think what happened to Floyd George is tragic and senseless. I’m not saying I in any way condone it. What I’m saying is, maybe we need something new. A separate media platform for politics, maybe? Better filters for the news feeds? I don’t know what the solution is. All I know is it’s not helping my mental state.