Reasons Why I Want You to Unfriend Me on Social media.
Rant time folks, don’t say you weren’t warned.
This is kind of about politics, but not really. It’s about morality. It’s about being a good human being.
The Ontario provincial election just finished, and as usual with most political situations there was a lot of animosity on Facebook and Twitter, and I am sure at dinner tables around the province too.
Around the end of the election a post /meme did the circuit on Facebook, I don’t have it handy, but the general idea behind it was not to let politics ruin friendships.
When I first read it I thought, yeah that’s true you shouldn’t do that, but something didn’t feel right about it. The more I thought about it the more I thought, no, you should let politics ruin friendships. Now let me be clear here, I don’t believe that you should stop being friends with people because they don’t vote the same way you do or have minor differences of opinion on policy.
What I mean is if your friends are more concerned with their own personal wealth than they are actual human lives. When they’re worried they’ll get hit with a marginal tax increase so our poor can have better health care, or dental care. When your friends are upset because they’ll have to pay 25 cents more for their coffee so that burger flipper can afford their rent AND food. When you think people shouldn’t be allowed to cover their faces in public because of their religion, but you’re okay with teenagers running around with skull bandannas covering their faces. When your friends want religion in public schools, but only their religion.
Why are you friends with them?
I’m sorry, this is intolerant right? I’ve heard that a lot lately “the intolerant left”. Here’s a thought, stop asking me to tolerate ignorance. Stop asking me to tolerate racism and sexism. Stop asking me to tolerate people that think all Muslim’s are out to murder us.
Stop asking me to tolerate intolerance.
I’m fifty years old, soon to be fifty one. I’ve been diabetic for 39 years and honestly my time on this planet is well more than half over. I am not wasting the time I have left on “friends” that don’t care about basic human rights and human lives. I want to spend the time I have left surrounded by people that care about other people, all other people. I want to spend the time I have left surrounded by love, not irrational fear and greed.
I want to be clear. I am more and more left wing the older I get when it comes to politics but this is not a condemnation of everyone that is centre or right wing. I have very good friends and family that I love that are conservative. While I don’t agree with their politics, I do not have any reason to believe these people in my life fit the descriptions I posted above.
If you do believe the things I posted above though, if you vote based on “what about me” then please do unfriend me. Tell me to fuck off. Call me an SJW (social justice warrior) or snowflake or whatever else you like. My feelings aren’t easily hurt, but when you’re done doing that I ask that you kindly remove yourself from my circle, because I don’t want to waste any more time explaining to people why they should care about other people.
