And to get annoyed when others do?
Seriously, I don’t know. I “like” my Songbook posts, so my fb friends can figure out that I write for this blog. Once in a blue moon I’ll “like” a post here, such as Peter’s “Mender Not an Ender” one, but that’s it.
No pithy one-liners or sarcastic cartoons from me on political matters on the fb.
Here’s something I just wrote in the fb comments to a friend, a real friend, also an academic. It is the tail-end of my objecting to what I took to be a political point (a saner version of whole Romney lied meme Pete discusses below) he was making, I thought in the guise of a general prayer. You don’t need to know the details of our little tiff, but I did give him several comments with arguments and even a couple links to stories today showing that Biden lied in the debate. Normally “silent on fb” me came loaded for bear. Here’s how I concluded:
As for the issue about politics and facebook, different folks have different opinions. But is the above pleasant? Fruitful? Do I like interacting with you this way, or vice-versa? I have a PhD in political science. As a blogger I argue about and read about politics continually, and I guess that’s my outlet, and perhaps you need yours here. I confess I am STUNNED that the election is as close as it is given how obviously unfit for the presidency I think Obama has shown himself to be. I truly believe that many of my fellow citizens, including many of my facebook friends, have somehow been shielded from this reality. I mourn for our country, and will do so even if Romney wins, given the stunning ignorance–in my honest estimation–I think our citizenry is displaying. I suppose I could go on facebook and unleash, as I sort of am doing here, the many arguments I wish my fellow citizens would hear from someone. But, I don’t. Some scruple of some sort. Some reaction to my not appreciating all the pithy little points folks like to put on facebook. The U.S. will survive another Obama term, but as a scholar of constitutional law, I have grave worries about the imprint he might leave on the SC. And you know I have many other grave worries with Obama. But with all that is at stake, I still don’t preach politics on facebook. Perhaps that is a wrong choice. But it does account for some of my frustration when I find a wise fellow Christian and moderate-minded man like you giving little squibs of anti-Romney argument, while I remain silent.
There it is, warts and all. The bag I’m in. Maybe I was wrong to push back in this way, and since y’all don’t have the larger context it’s hard for you to judge on that score.
But the larger issue remains: am I wrong to try to avoid politics on fb?
How do you handle this?
October 13th, 2012 | 1:42 am
Why avoid it? In mediated experience we see too little of other people as it is, and the less people show the less interesting the whole enterprise becomes.
October 13th, 2012 | 1:48 am
Answer: yes, if you want to keep your friends.
For myself: My FP page is full of my “friends”(wonks–often bitter–on both or all sides)–showing me telling links and incisive posts. I scroll it every day or so and learn a lot quickly, even though most are very predictable. Very useful are the bitter ex-Republicans such as Bruce Bartlett and John Medaille, and prolife posters such as Father Peter West. Roger Kimball and John Podhoretz are reliable Romneyites.
I weakened during the two debates for the benefit of my students present and former. But generally I limit myself to linking most pomocon and BIG THINK gems.
But the main reason, I tell myself, I’m on FACEBOOK is to look at the pictures of my daughter, my grandson etc.
If any of you want to be my “friend,” you can find me at my FACEBOOK pseudonym Pal Law.
October 13th, 2012 | 5:39 am
My introduction to Facebook was through former students who asked political questions outside of the classroom. The first conversation was something about Al Gore and to join Facebook I had to have a college email address. Back then it was all discussions of politics or kids sharing music, creating events and meeting friends of friends, virtually. No pictures of grandchildren, few ads, and none of the embellishments that have come to characterize Facebook. Most of the young people who lured me in are now parents and many don’t have time for it because of juggling work and family. For some of the others, it’s so popular that nobody goes there anymore.
Eventually, my children joined up and their friends and they were all working out their politics, so I posted the more interesting articles or opinion pieces that I read during the day so we could all comment on them. Then blogging friends joined, then the parents of the kids who were friends, then friends I hadn’t heard from in years turned up. Somehow I acquired subscribers. Now I read that half of all people who have computers are on Facebook. That’s a lot of people and it has changed, but it was once all about politics. At least for me.
But politics is not science for me. I do observe it, but politics is about life. I don’t make a living at it and can afford to be wrong and adjusted when wrong. Facebook and the Internet are like an agora. I can go wonder there and ask questions of all kinds of people. I do that in my walk-around life, too, so it only seems natural in the virtual agora. Pictures of babies, prayer requests, home videos, shared gardening tips, suggested novels, are all part of life, too. If I were conversing with anyone I know those things would be part of the conversation along with, “What did you think of the debate?” All of those things are life and we might share those things or not depending on the degree of friendship or acquaintance. Sharing my politics is less personal than sharing my grandkid’s pictures.
Preaching politics might be something else, but in an open forum that invites argument, it amounts to opening a conversation. Real preaching is a different part of the service than call and response. In political conversation, the latter is democratic, not hieratic; Carl, if you preach, folks will just take it as argument anyway.
October 13th, 2012 | 8:26 am
Like Prof. Lawler, I mostly use FB to see pictures of friends’ weddings and children. But I also use it to share fun and interesting things I’ve read with people I know in a quick and interesting way. If my FB “friends” want to disagree with me, then sometimes it’s fun to have that conversation. I used to share articles directly on electoral politics, but that embroiled me in too many disagreements. Now, I mostly share the more theoretical articles I read and stuff from Lawler, who, as we all know, is a uniter, not a divider.
October 13th, 2012 | 10:38 am
i am terrified of Facebook, worrying that if i ever use it the result will be pictures of me working out in the gym appearing all over the world… a headline like, check the abs of a pomocon blogger.
yet trying to get a train ticket in france, it seemed to me that i had to join…i did, but i have never touched it. i get messages of nice people who want to be my “friend,” and i am touched. but i delete them immediately, even though i feel guilty in doing so…like i refused to say hello.
as for the use of Facebook for political purposes, i say check you decalogue. i believe you will find an injunction against doing so.
October 13th, 2012 | 10:40 am
I have a great wey of avoinding this problem. I’m not on Facebook. It strikes me as a weird phenomenon.
October 13th, 2012 | 11:32 am
The answer is yes, if you are a normal person who puts Facebook to its normal purposes. My grandma, who was a true southern lady, used to say “In mixed company, don’t talk about politics or religion.” I don’t always follow my grandma’s directive; as Mike Uhlmann retorted to me once, “What else interesting is there to talk about than politics and religion!?” But there are certain social settings where I think my grandma’s advice makes sense.
The fact of the matter is, Facebook friends are VERY mixed company: Facebook is an F-ing peanut gallery. Random friends of friends chime in whenver something having to do with politics is brought up, and spout very ignorant comments. What’s worse is when guys I knew from highschool pop up and say something that neither I nor they would say to each other in person, and leave both of us worse off than if we had never been Facebook friends. That’s why almost everything I post on Facebook is only tangentially related to anything political.
It’s very frustrating to see friends and acquaintances making bad arguments or even getting suckered by the arguments of Facebook sophists. These arguments possibly could be corrected in short order, but I’m convinced that Facebook is the wrong place to do that kind of thing. Face to face is so much better than Facebook
October 13th, 2012 | 1:00 pm
I agree with Peter that Facebook is, for educational/information gathering purposes, most useful for directing people to articles and discussions outside Facebook. When I had an active account, that people exchanged political barbs and occasionally posted personal political manifestos was, depending on the content, only slightly annoying at worst. Unlike PomoCon, it didn’t seem like a great forum for discussion for lots of reasons, but I’m glad others have found it to be such, at least some of the time.
October 13th, 2012 | 3:07 pm
I agree with Kate, and mainly get requests for “political opinion” on facebook.
Interesting that ceasar joked about buying facebook, but doesn’t contribute to its valuation.
Personally I am not sure Facebook is worth much more than Zynga. So I agree with Joseph Marshall, it could be.
October 13th, 2012 | 7:49 pm
Carl, if you and I were F/b friends you would know it’s my birthday, what I did today, and the fact I am about to relate a paranormal event that occurred yesterday at Wally world! Plus, you’ll get to meet my annoying friends across the globe, warming or not!
Consider what you are missing! “Friend” me and I’ll click ‘ok’, I promise!
October 13th, 2012 | 8:42 pm
Thanks all. Kate, I guess it just seems to me that to the extent that things get political on fb, it is in very short snippets that do not allow for much discussion. Could be our (my wife and I use the same account) odd collection of friends and family.
Robert, it is of course vital for all pomocons to stay informed about paranormal occurrences at Wallyworld, so do tell.
And Happy Birthday!
October 13th, 2012 | 8:44 pm
I try to avoid politics on FB also, for several reasons. FB is not constructed to make careful dialog easy. Some “friends” and family have organized their emotional life to make politics the center of their existence, and any contradiction is taken as a personal attack. And the level of discourse is so petty and stupid (“X wants to do Y to us all! He is a wicked jerk! Yep! Like. Like. Right on! Like Like like”) that it feels like wrestling with a pig. (No doubt that’s uncharitable of me.) Your “friends” and family may vary.
October 13th, 2012 | 9:27 pm
Carl, thanks for the birthday wishes, I’m a young 66. Sorry but I posted my paranormal event on my f/b page, so you’ll have to be my ‘friend’ to read it! My guess is Peter and Caeser will be ‘friending’ me anytime now, just to read the very true story!
October 13th, 2012 | 10:40 pm
Great subject. My general rule of thumb on facebook is, don’t post or contribute anything political unless it has a reasonable chance of overturning someones caricature or stereotype of conservatism. If you aren’t offering something that introduces some degree of cognitive dissonance to the typical liberal or passionate fence sitter’s idea of what a conservative is, then it’s probably not worth the effort.
Just my two cents.
October 13th, 2012 | 11:00 pm
Happy Birthday, Bob! (Ooo, just like on Facebook.)
Carl, I have had very long conversations on Facebook, writing much more than probably made sense given the brevity of life.
October 14th, 2012 | 8:27 am
Belated happy birthday Bob!
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