You ever have a nightmare where you try to yell for help but your voice doesn’t work? You attempt to shout with all your might but you can’t make a sound? There are hundreds of people within earshot but you can’t get their attention. You’re completely mute. If you’ve never experienced that particular nightmare, now you can! Here’s what you need to do:
Say something on social media.
Your words will cause damage. I know this because EVERY word causes damage. Every word is a wrecking ball that smashes the hearts of your fellow humans. When you speak, you do harm. No social media platform will tolerate that.
Facebook sent this stern warning to a friend of mine when she posted a picture of her horse and referred to said horse as, “fat mama.” To be clear, the term “fat mama” referred to A HORSE. Welcome to the nightmare!
Social media has software in place that monitors every word you type. The software flags offensive words and prohibits you from using them. You get muted. Since EVERY word is offensive to somebody, it’s only a matter of time before your comment gets flagged as hate speech.
Listen to me!
I’m not talking to a radio shock jock. I’m not talking to an antagonistic cultural commentator. I’m not talking to a political pundit. I’m not talking to a zealous preacher. I’m talking to you!
You’re nobody important. You just use social media to post pictures of horses and grandchildren. You don’t argue politics. You don’t say controversial things. Right?
Everything is controversial. EVERYTHING! The penalty for controversy is severe. In the blink of an eye, your account is locked. You simply disappear. Friends and family have no idea what happened.
My point today is NOT that censorship is despicable (though it is.) I’m simply suggesting that using social media as your primary method of communication is foolish. On social media, you don’t own your words. You are not free to speak your mind. You can be silenced without warning.
There are forces working to control the flow of ideas. Social media filters your thoughts. Which means social media is filtering EVERYBODY’s thoughts. Think about that as you’re scrolling down your friend’s wall.
Start shifting away from social media as your primary method of communicating, especially if you’re planning to express your outrageous opinions about horses. Otherwise, this may be the last time I hear from you.
6 Responses
Rae Bates 😂😂😂
John, I wish a family member (addicted to FB, addled and forever trying to convince me to vote Demonrat) could be jolted awake by this great post of yours. I’m still hoping for a non-fatal “Paul on the road to Damascus” Conversion experience for her, before it’s too late.
Nice piece 👍👏
This is a very scary truth because so many people get all their information from social media and really have no clue the thought police are watching everything you say or click on. I keep seeing these little quotes from George Orwell’s “1984” and I’m starting to wonder if that dude wasn’t a prophet ( not in the Biblical sense) so everyone calm down, but the things he wrote about as fiction are happening right before our eyes.
Thank God that Donald J. Trump is our President 🙂
And COVID-19 is being use for a tool to try to silence God’s children. Some states are not allowing churches to sing ’cause it “spreads the virus”, but yet, “protesters” are allowed to do whatever they want. There’s a double-standard going on.
If you need another example, I got in trouble for referring to Winnie the Pooh as Pantsless Befuddled Glutton Bear. I wasn’t muted, but since someone objected it was a possibility.
…I forgot about that one.