Declaring War on Strangers And Their Pickle Nazi Fetish
Yet another morning. You wonder why the days are in a perpetual cycle of drudgery. You can’t really muster the excitement or the enthusiasm for the routine of daily life.
At least there are social media platforms to keep you entertained. That doesn’t require too much commitment. Not like Netflix. Who has time to watch the latest offering of weird 80s kids fighting the forces of evil?
You settle down to engage in a bit of banter on social. You tell yourself, “no more than ten minutes”. An hour later and you’ve become embroiled in a mass debate over pickles which threatens to send you over the edge. You can’t understand why a random stranger from a small town in the foothills of Italy had completely missed your point. Those are war criminals running the pickle factory. They are spreading pickle propaganda under the guise of a family-run business.
You are very angry.
This was not how you imagined you would spend your morning. At the very least you hoped to do some work. But now? Now it’s a battle of wills. Now this Italian, if he even is Italian, has broken through the fourth wall and is insulting everything you stand for. The man is a fascist. You know this with certainty because he is Italian and they all like fascism in Italy. You cling to the stereotype as you continue to hurl insults at each other.
You like certainty.
You now suspect the man is a Nazi sympathizer. An apologist for the German war effort. A revisionist to historical fact. In your mind, this man is a menace to society and he has single-handedly ruined your day.
You know you are right. Every second commenter agrees with you.
But was all this necessary?
Remember how the day began? Mundane. Uneventful. Full of promise in an unassuming way? Do you wonder what might have been if you never engaged in social media at all? Would you have gotten into a random fight over pickles? It all escalated so fast and now you are fuming and tense.
Why didn’t you simply scroll past?
Is this good advice?
“If someone posts something that doesn’t sit comfortably with you, don’t engage with the post. The more people comment, the more reach the post gets. You’re feeding the algorithm and helping an inappropriate post to go viral.” Ellie Denney
Don’t engage. Ignore the post. How exactly is this helpful advice?
It may keep you sane, but if you’re prone to blow up at every second comment then perhaps social media isn’t for you. This isn’t a safe space no matter how hard the corporations try to convince you. Youtube demonetizes posts with content that goes against its policies. They won’t take them down unless there’s a huge protest. Youtube knows controversy feeds the algorithm. Hate brings eyeballs.
Twitter thrives on angry content. The bigger the storm, the more views it draws to the platform.
Do you believe Medium is any different? Or Linkedin? Instagram? Tik Tok?
You decide to engage because it is immoral to ignore such a post. You wouldn’t stand by as somebody is racially abused in real life, would you? At the very least you would report the incident. So why would you scroll past a post? What the person has posted is wrong. It is vile. It is unethical. It is inappropriate content. You have to say something.
If you don't agree with a post then engage with it and put the opposing view forward.
Isn’t it better to engage and put the opposing view forward? Start a conversation? Would you learn more by offering an opinion and presenting a debate? What is it exactly about the post that you find reprehensible? Open up the discussion. If people are not challenged, how can we engage in healthy debate and raise more understanding on both sides?
Be polite. Express your view without name-calling or being too forceful. You got this. That’s what being an adult is all about. You can handle your emotions and be open to change.
Not disagreeing with posts creates similar posts. Each one builds upon the last message. Each one slides further and further into offense. It soon becomes an endless stream of pickle Nazis. Nobody wants to read that.
You see. That wasn’t too hard. Being a grown-up is easy.
But don’t engage?
That’s bad advice unless you’re seeking therapy for your anger issues.