Facebook "Debates" Have Made Me Impatient and Bitter (Derrick Broze's Stream of Consciousness #1 [a Steemit exclusive series])
(The following is the first of a Steemit exclusive series I'm calling "DBSOC: Derrick Broze's Stream of Consciousness". I'm working on re-connecting with my creative flow when writing, on using it as a tool to process what is present for me. So much of my work is thoroughly researched, refined & re-written, and not about what I'm feeling, what is my truth. DBSOC is going to be just that: what is present for me right here, right now. Hope you enjoy.)
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Facebook "Debates" Have Made Me Impatient and Bitter
I have been finding myself increasingly frustrated with attempts at discourse via social media, specifically, Facebook. I occasionally catch myself being impatient, crude, and lacking compassion towards others. Sometimes my actions are a response to their judgements or assumptions about my views or actions, but it doesn’t help the situation. I find myself grinding my teeth out of frustration or generally feeling more stressed out after being online.
It’s not necessarily that I feel I need to have the last word, it’s that they are full of shit! At least that’s what I tell myself.
But, when I think deeper - after taking a few deep breaths and stepping away from the computer - I realize that it is in fact my ego’s desire to be perceived the “right” way and not misrepresented that causes me to respond to the fallacious arguments. I could ignore it and refuse to respond to straw man claims. I could remain calm and politely explain my views in the hopes they are actually heard and understood. But I don’t.
I get sucked into debates that are not serving my higher goals or intentions. I find myself engaging with people who obviously have no interest in a legitimate discourse and then I sink to their level. It ends up being two egos fighting each other. My goals and intentions include educating myself and others about the important philosophical truths which lead to a more enjoyable and free life. Obviously the fulfillment of those goals requires me to communicate and even debate from time to time. The goal then, should be to communicate my truths to others in a way that validates my need to be heard and respected while also granting the same opportunity to those on the other end of the conversation.
Quite simply, I need to show the same respect and patience and empathy to other people that I hope to receive from them. This practice - self-reflection and compassionate communication - are vital tools for growing any “movement” or ideology. I know that humans deserve to be free to organize their own lives. I believe and see that we are capable of so much more than we often give ourselves credit for or are shown in the popular culture. We are not weak. We are not inherently violent.
I know we can create something better and I know that the answers will not come by trying the same old designs. We have to step outside of the boxes we are placed in from birth. We have to be able to experience self love and esteem to a level that fills our body with inspiration and determination. Through our passion we will inspire others to pursue their own healing and purpose. I know these things are possible if we simply stop playing their game and put our time/money/energy into the next stage of humanity.
But even if I know these things to be true - that coercion and force between human beings always lead to disharmony, and humanity needs to heal before we are able to evolve - I will not convince others or stoke their curiosity by sinking to a level of communication that is not representative of who I Am on a regular basis and does not reflect my goal of helping as many people exit the matrix as possible. I must remain a heart centered compassionate activist, a holistic anarchist who wants to help other free humans recognize their own power and use that power to lead the life of their dreams. So, I guess my taking a break from Facebook is also an effort for me to decompress, get back into my regular meditation, reconnect with my thoughts, and practice compassion towards myself and others.
I am an investigative journalist and liberty activist; a Lead Investigative Reporter for ActivistPost.com and the founder of the TheConsciousResistance.com & The Houston Free Thinkers. I have also co-authored three books: The Conscious Resistance: Reflections on Anarchy and Spirituality and Finding Freedom in an Age of Confusion, Vol. 1 and Finding Freedom in an Age of Confusion, Vol. 2
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Great to see you posting on here man.
I quit just a week ago. Well, I mean I stopped debating seriously on FB. The more serious I get about living freely in my own life, and the older I get, the less I can believe how puerile and stupid the conversations are on there in large part. It's like a bunch of fucking 12 year olds.
So and so blocked me! Fuck him! Statist!
It's really....fucking dumb.
Anyway, I feel your pain. Big fan of your work man.
It is pretty amazing how childish people can get so quickly on the internet. Honestly, one of the most important steps for the liberation of mankind to continue forward is for people to stop arguing about the little details and focus on the desires we have in common: for a more free, peaceful, loving, abundant world.
Thanks for your support!
Ah! I was so ready for a ‘I’m victimised on Facebook’ post and I realise I was ready to join in! Then I much preferred what you wrote. I much prefer the less ‘road rage’ atmosphere of steemit over Facebook and I’d love to bring the people I’m talking to over here rather than communicate with them there, in that atmosphere.
I felt a surge of happiness when you said (can’t look up above on the mobile app to quote you correctly) ‘people don’t need top down government’. I believe you are absolutely right that this can’t happen until we heal ourselves to act with compassion.
I loved this post. It made me feel calmer and more sure and ready for a Facebook break too.
LOVE this because I have the same inner struggle with Facebook. I came to Steemit for the peace to share thoughts constructively with other more open-minded people, and lately I rely on my twitter feed for news, but I will always feel a nagging need that it is still important to share relevant news with my friends+family community because I think the sharing of information is vital and the hope that slowly, other people will wake from their brainwashed state and think independently again.
Upvoted and Resteeming!
Aren’t we all facing this. What I regret is the amount of sarcastic comments was rather appreciated than constructive comments with better facts
Very well articulated. What a goal for all of us to strive for and what a world it'd be if we could hit that mark.
Internet has become more argumentative in last few years. I avoid political groups on facebook like the plague but the fighting is everywhere even in my art and movie and music groups. People say Steemit is fake because everyone is nice to one another but there is no stress coming here. I don't want fight online it's a waste of your life
One of the best posts I have read to date. I could not agree more about the way FB tends to distill an argument down to how you come across to others instead of the original point. I am enjoying my writing on Steemit as it seems folk on here want to be helped as well as help others.
up-voted and followed. Admittedly I have a FB page(Beeston furnace) that I will be share this post to, with pleasure(oh no is that my ego again?haha).
Derrick, absolutely great seeing you here man!!! Been following your conscious resistant network for some time now and just missed you when you were in Excelsior, MN a few months back. Hope you stick around for a while!
I plan on being on Steemit from here on out :-) We'll be doing another tour next year as well, hope to see you out there.
Thanks for your support brother!
No problem man, keep up the great work and congrats on the not-guilty verdict. You never know how things like that can go, I can only imagine the weight lifted off of your shoulders.
Congratulations! This post has been upvoted from the communal account, @minnowsupport, by dbroze from the Minnow Support Project. It's a witness project run by aggroed, ausbitbank, teamsteem, theprophet0, someguy123, neoxian, followbtcnews/crimsonclad, and netuoso. The goal is to help Steemit grow by supporting Minnows and creating a social network. Please find us in the Peace, Abundance, and Liberty Network (PALnet) Discord Channel. It's a completely public and open space to all members of the Steemit community who voluntarily choose to be there.
I understand all too well how demoralizing Facebook can be to all the progress we make as individual sovereign human beings. I've begun taking a step back from the Facebook debates as all we see in our perceptions are projections of the inner self. In short our message, your message will connect with those who are already ready to hear it. I find that those who fight your words without a desire to grow and understand from connection instead of debating disconnection are really just fighting their own shadow. Out of compassion I leave em be... sometimes ;)