Facebook has turned into a platform for racism, hatred, and ignorance. People follow, share, and like without ever truly standing up for anyone else or standing out for a cause. If you don’t believe in anything truly significant you’ll fall for anything and sadly, Facebook has become the land of bullshit. Girls share Tik Tok videos to share their political views, memes have become a form of communication, and people will believe anything that is posted on Facebook.

I naively posted a controversial statement on Facebook last night after receiving the news alert from CNN that Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted of all charges. I posted something because I needed to vent and share my thoughts on the subject, because the fact that a seventeen year old boy, who walked around with an AR-15, in a state that wasn’t even his own, after curfew, took the law into his own hands and killed, is not being charged with anything absolutely disgusts me. I will never support any seventeen year old walking the streets armed because I am someone who believes wholeheartedly in our need for stricter gun laws. This country has fallen victim to countless school shootings, one of the most heartbreaking incidents being Sandy Hook, movie theater shootings, concert shootings, racial injustice that has ended in gun violence, and people are STILL defending the shooter. If Kyle Rittenhouse had been a young, black boy we wouldn’t even be having this conversation because he would’ve been convicted in five minutes, or worse, killed for being a “thug”. I am so tired of hearing people say, “Well, if Kyle hadn’t had a gun he would’ve been killed himself.” Well, if Kyle hadn’t chosen to put himself in that situation, or he had parents who actually parented and told him not to go to the riot, he wouldn’t have had to defend himself. He could’ve been playing football, reading a book, going to the movies with friends, or working. He decided to be there, with an AR-15. He went to the riot armed and open to killing someone. No one will change my mind on how I feel on this subject, especially when it comes to gun control. I’m also outraged that his mother wasn’t concerned by the actions of her son. Whether she drove her son to the riot or not (I know that was a heated topic), it doesn’t matter, because she supported her son having an AR-15, and she clearly raised him in a household that supports violence and vigilantes. We should be raising our children to be compassionate, kind, caring souls.

NOW, with all of that being said, I know that there will always be someone who disagrees with me and I don’t think that everyone should feel the way I feel, but I am sick of Facebook being a place where if you dare to share your thoughts and feelings you’re instantly attacked for that. What happened to having a true, controversial conversation with a person and being respectful? I don’t comment on anyone’s posts on social media with the intention of being a bully, combative, or being an asshole. I rarely comment on anyone’s posts to begin with and if I do it’s usually a positive, constructive comment. People on social media love to fight just to fight and love to find drama. I am not that person and I cannot handle it. It’s not who I am. I am kind, respectful, and I stand by what I believe in, always, but I’m not going to sit there and listen to bullshit and nastiness. I don’t have the time or the patience for it. I wound up deleting the statement I posted, which I’ve never done before, after another person I went to school with called me insane and basically called me an idiot for feeling the way I feel, and I received two nasty messages via Facebook from ignorant bullies. I decided that Facebook is just not the place to have meaningful, controversial conversations, or a place to share real thoughts. It’s not a place to make impactful changes or to make positive waves. There are Facebook friends of mine who reached out to me and loved what I wrote, which I appreciate, but again, I just don’t have the time to argue with every person who disagrees with me.

I’m a business owner and it’s just not worth my time to argue or battle it out with people on Facebook. I’m not afraid to offend people or to be controversial (anyone who knows me knows I always stand up for what’s right and I have my strong viewpoints), but sometimes it’s just better to bow out and to take your voice elsewhere. I am taking my voice to the blogosphere because on here I can be me and I can be honest without being attacked and judged. I know that in the blog universe there are actual thinkers and true creatives who have beliefs and voices and whether I agree with everyone who has a blog or not, as creative people we are writing about how we feel and being productive. We are not hiding behind a computer screen attacking anyone and everyone simply because we’re bored. As a writer, I know that words are powerful and we need to focus on writing things on social media and on the internet that truly matter as opposed to writing something just to make a noise. Posting a meme isn’t a thought. It’s an easy, trendy way to get likes. You may be loud on the internet, but that doesn’t mean you’re right. You’re just the one making the most commotion. The ones who are calm, cool, and collected are the ones who make true waves. The ones who can listen to both sides without attacking and hitting below the belt are true adults.

To those who are also tired of the constant ignorance and negativity on social media, just sign off for a moment and take a breath. We cannot change the way others feel and we cannot block the hate, but we can be creative and find better ways to express ourselves. I run two successful businesses and much of my business comes from strong Facebook advertising, so sadly I will be on social media regardless, but it’s still okay to log off some days and ignore the social media world. You can do it too, if you feel that the social media break will improve your mental health. Last night I scrolled through my newsfeed on Facebook, which I don’t usually do, and I saw so many posts that were blatantly racist and hateful, which made me immediately sign off and delete my post, because I don’t want to engage with the racist, negative morons. It’s not worth it. Welcome to the land of bullshit, where being a racist is “cool” and conspiracy theories thrive.

I will leave you all with one last thought before I carry on with my busy Saturday (and I stay off of Facebook today for my sanity)…

It’s not what you take with you when you go, it’s what you leave behind that matters. Leave the world better than you left it and always give more than you take.

Xo