One Among The Ruins

Like many people who have been dissatisfied with the Republican party for decades I found myself walking away and becoming a Libertarian. And as a result- reading Vox Day. He posts today that he is leaving Facebook. He has already been banned from Twitter.

UPDATE: Before anyone starts worrying that I've been banned by Facebook, I deactivated my account myself. I would have deleted it, but the damned DELETE ACCOUNT page would not load no matter which browser I tried. I'll delete it when I get the chance.

Vox is preemptively removing himself from a platform that will eventually purge him. At some point these large social media platforms will purge most dissent and become nothing but as much a Left echo chamber as Gab is a Right echo chamber. It will take longer. Being the innovator- Twitter and Facebook has well known and respected users, celebrities, and politicians. Slowly they will be chased off. They are even attacking Bernie Sanders because he would not denounce ICE. I imagine there will be a breaking point where some new platform is made and people jump to that. Or maybe people will come to their senses and turn the damn thing off.

This is an interesting cycle. The internet was born during my lifetime. It exploded in popularity. It brought people together in ways never before possible. The internet allowed people a platform to say what they believed and find people who thought like they did. Even to find love. And now as it has become a larger, more centralized, and controlled entity- some people are walking away from it. And some people are being actively chased off.

Here's the timeline of the internet as I have experienced it. At first it was an outlet to see bad fake nude pictures of my celebrity crush Jennifer Love Hewitt. It morphed into something letting me see pictures of people I really wasn't friends with anymore. Then it became a platform for actual news and subversive political ideas. Now it is fast becoming a platform of only approved thoughts and opinions and no news at all. Which means it is now largely useless. All in less than 20 years. Sure, you can still sell crap on ebay.

Now the friends we made on the internet or ties we maintained through the internet are largely divided by politics and approved vs non-approved narratives. It's quite a lot to handle. Too much drama. Twenty years ago if a friend moved away...well, that was it. We said goodbye. If we disagree and stop being friends then that was easier too. You never saw them again. Now we get to view shared friends experiences with them. They linger on. Haunting us. Maybe making us wonder why we had ever been friends at all.

There's a noted phenomenon where people can people can really only know or be friends with a certain number of people. Basically the size of a small village. Once you go passed that number you really do not care anymore. I think this might have a geographic proximity as well. That part may be inversely related to the actual number of friends you have- less friends = a larger distance away that they can be with you still caring about them.

Trying to maintain more friends than you humanly can or trying to care about what people will think if you express your opinion. Worrying if your boss will find out and you'll lose a promotion. Or the job entirely. Scared of what a vindictive ex might post about you to poison mutual friendships. One last 'fuck you' to burn all remaining bridges.

It reminds me of The Abyss. It can all add up to you feeling like you are drowning in a room full of air.



Take that weight off. Breathe deep and enjoy what you have.