Now that I have officially stopped posting anything to Facebook other than taunts, I’m encountering a strange breed of humanoid creature called the “Facebook Apologist.” Their scientific name is, “Scairdy-cus Cat-icus” and they are easily identified by the sounds they emit when you suggest leaving Facebook or Twitter (which I’ll refer to as ‘TwitFace’ for the remainder of this article) for a new, better platform.

This is a list of the noises made by the common TwitFace Apologist. The wording may vary from apologist to apologist but overall the sound is identical.

Mockery:

“Leaving social media is like breaking up with someone who didn’t know they were dating you.”

This is intended to make fun of you for deciding to break up with someone who doesn’t know you exist. But…that seems like a completely rational reason to break up. TwitFace doesn’t care about you. Why should you stick around? The Apologist wants you to think they’re making the smart choice by staying on TwitFace where they will continue to be ignored and unloved.

Echo Chamber:

“A lot of the skeletons of the larger right-wing echo chamber have moved or set up shop on Parler…”

The Apologist warns that moving from TwitFace will put you in an ‘echo chamber’ where you’ll only hear from right-wing fanatics who repeat the same psychotic ideas 24 hours a day. These right-wing fanatics say outrageous, dangerous things! So dangerous, that TwitFace blocks them from speaking, thus creating a safe, secure echo chamber where the Apologists can repeat their ideas 24 hours a day.

Toxicity:

“That site has gained a reputation as a repository of toxic content. “

FB Apologists warn about the hazards of allowing toxic content to pass before your eyes but they don’t explain how they recognize toxic content when they see it. Apologists don’t believe you are smart enough to recognize evil by yourself. If you wander away from the censored content of TwitFace into an environment where speech is not controlled, you’ll be unable to know the good stuff from the bad stuff. So, you should rely on TwitFace to tell you what to believe.

Abandonment:

“We are called to be the light in darkness. If we stay in the light, how can we help others out of darkness? When you leave TwitFace, the people left behind won’t be able to hear the gospel!”

This is the most diabolical noise the FB Apologist makes. They are asserting that moving away from TwitFace means Christians are forsaking our duty to proclaim the faith. It assumes there is no ‘darkness’ on the other platforms that needs the gospel light. And it completely ignores the primary reason we’re leaving TwitFace in the first place: censorship.

TwitFace suppresses religious ideas that do not conform to “community standards.” In other words, TwitFace hides the gospel light under a bushel basket. The Apologist is helping keep people in the dark by insisting they stay on TwitFace instead of going somewhere else where the truth is spoken freely. If Apologists were sincerely worried about people hearing the gospel, they would stop shaming them for leaving TwitFace.

I didn’t anticipate people taking it personally when I stopped using TwitFace. The Apologists are emotionally invested in TwitFace and that’s not a good thing. It smacks of idolatry. I’ve been clear about my motives for leaving and I think staying on TwitFace is a stupid idea…but we’re free to choose stupidity.

And Apologists are free to make their noises. I don’t want them censored or silenced. That’s why they should think about ditching TwitFace and coming with me!

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