About Your Facebook Feed and Why I Never Want to Come to Your House

You know, if you're a friend or family member who keeps your social media free of politics and stays out of the fray, I understand and respect that. 

On the other hand, if you're among the friends and family members who remain silent about the fear, hatred, and violence manifesting around us while abundantly posting Stars and Stripes memes, sentimental soldier and veteran imagery, blue lives memes, and — if the shoe fits — racist and sexist cartoons, homophobic and transphobic jokes, judgement calls about the poor person ahead of you in line at the supermarket (like you never bought beer and smokes when you didn't know how you were going to pay the rent) or even if you just let the ugly items on that list go unchallenged on your own feed because... because... actually I don't have a because. Why would anyone ever want to host comments like “Tell the fags to bake their own wedding cake.” on a document with their name on it? 

When you remain silent about these and other things that matter — say, when the president time and again stokes fears about people who don't look, love or pray like you do and then when people who do look like you start killing, you still remain silent about it or join in blaming the victims — Why wouldn’t a Holocaust survivor want to have an armed guard standing over her? — it says to me those things don't matter to you. 

If other people's safety doesn't matter to you, then you shouldn't be surprised when people don't feel safe around you. 

The way what is happening is dividing people saddens me. The way what is happening is hurting and killing people breaks my heart and terrifies me. I’d like to think people can somehow come together, but when you demonstrate a sense of civics and exercise tolerance only when it benefits you and don't fret over those things otherwise, it isn't reassuring even if we have known each other since way back when or how strongly you say you believe in family. 

Add to that the knowledge that if your house is anything like how you'd have people believe what is important enough to you to post on the internet, it's full of fear, guns and poor judgement and that really just makes me want to stay as far away as possible.