I have a confession to make…I have an addiction. I know you find it shocking, and so did I when I realized it. Don’t worry, it’s not the kind of thing where I’ll be breaking into your house and stealing your PS3 in order to hock it for some quick cash. It’s a little more mundane than that, but still embarrassing.
I…I’m addicted to the comments section…
OK, all together now, “We Love You, Tom.”
Thank you, (sniff) thank you. Your support means so much to me…and with you supporting me, I think I can get through this and come to terms with my personal demon.
I just cant stop reading the comments section of basically any online publication. It doesn’t matter which. Delco Times, Philly.com, The Economist, The Atlantic, Fark, Fast Company, others...it really doesn't matter. I always promise myself that I am through with it, but I always come back to it...and I always feel a sense of regret afterwards. I feel...slightly dirty.
Now, I don't know why I care what other folks think about the events of the day. Frankly I find it frustrating as all hell. Nothing torques me like folks who have no understanding of the topic harping on about whatever the article is about...any review of the comments regarding a political issue will demonstrate to which degree that happens.
Inversely, (or some may say, perversely) I actually get twinge of satisfaction by “tossing grenades” into a conversation, just to get the loonies fired up. Oh yeah, regardless of how sophomoric it is, I love to agitate. Anyone who has known me for more than five minutes is aware of that particular character flaw. And I do admit it’s a flaw, much like referring to others as loonies.
The federal spending debate is my cause du jour. I am really excited about the Tea Party folks talking about not spending what you don’t have...they really should talk to their darling Donald Trump about that concept. We constantly hear about how this concept is absolutely well understood by anyone who runs a household budget. Really? Seriously? The comparison of the US to a 4-person household is tragic. Understandable, but tragic. Its what folks can understand...the average American cannot fathom funding a $685 billion military as well as infrastructure and regulation. Not much different than managing food and cable bills, is it?
My major concern with my fellow posters is that when you look at the comments and really read them, you see how much we actually hate each other, and to a certain extent, by proxy, ourselves. (and that “we” is in a very general sense. I am not talking about you, dear reader. Not you...) When you read an article about someone else’s personal tragedy, it doesn't take long within the context of the comments section for some poster or another to start blaming the victim, calling them any number of epithets, or generally celebrating that this happened and wishing that it would happen to more of their ilk. Oftentimes the proffers of these thoughts are nothing more than trolls, looking to get a reaction from the audience, some desktop Gilbert Gottfried, but more often than not, there is a person at that keyboard with some extremely scary perspectives about their fellow man. A quick perusal of the Delaware County Daily Times, (I know, I know...it’s Delco) will show you more racism, homophobia, xenophobia, sexism, ageism (although more in the reverse of what we hear about in legal discussions), and other negative social attributes than you, my gentle snowflakes, should be able to stomach.
Where has civility gone? Where has general concern for each other gone? (Not implying that these are the same thing. You can be a raging tool and still be quite civil.) My greatest fear is that they haven’t gone anywhere...it’s that it never truly existed. It’s always been us and them, but now, “us” is no longer a family, a village, an ethnic group, subscribers to a specific religion; “us” are those folks who subscribe to similar points of view. “Us” are conservatives., “them” are liberals. “Us” are agnostics; “them” are evangelicals. “Us” are real republicans, “them” are socialists, commies, progressives, democrats, RINOs. “Us” are union members, “them” are the greedy corporate elite. Got the picture? The visibility of the online forum has just made this delineation more apparent, and easier to subscribe to. Prejudices which where not tolerated in public can now be spewed in response to stories or columns that either support the posters position or somehow refute it. Those comments, formerly whispered to those closest, are now being shouted from our windows in a state of semi-anonymity. Submitters to these forums seem to be individuals who feel they have some point of opinion that is under-represented. My feeling is that this is participation of the fringes; those who had felt marginalized in the past by the majority who rejected what they had to say. Who knew there were so many of them?
The average person, those who represent the solid center, do not seem to be participating. Where are the rational voices? Are they too busy creating lives for themselves? That would be my guess... Other possibilities would be apathy, also probable, or fear of exposing themselves as idiots. This is not to say that they are idiots, although I am sure some of them are, but they believe that because they may not be as up to speed with some of the issues as some other posters, they would get called out and mocked in a public forum. I can assure that this would happen. But that’s ok. Everybody gets called out, even when they make a logical, well thought out point...as a matter of fact, that is when folks tend to get called out the most. Well thought out arguments and rationality doesn’t tend to mix well with ideology.
So, obviously, this drives me to fits of lunacy...but I can’t stay away. It’s my reality TV, leaving me feeling somewhat ashamed. I am a poorly treated lover, knowing what awaits me when I return, but unable to stop myself from returning anyway. Damn you, Comments Section...damn you. I hate you...I love you....
