Those who know me, either online or in real life, know that I am passionate about political and social issues, and can spend hours debating with random strangers on my Twitter and Facebook. One of the reasons why I started blogging was to express my opinions on different political issues, and when I see something blatantly incorrect or rage-inducing it's difficult not to step in and fight whatever it is I was mad about. While this has caused me a lot of stress (and caused some interesting interactions with complete strangers), it's not something I really mind doing, especially when I'm not the only one reading ignorant posts online.
However, recently there's been a topic that I've avoided talking about on social media, despite it becoming more and more relevant to current issues: gun control. After the recent mass shooting in Orlando, Democrats are pushing forward common sense gun laws and arguing that nobody, especially those on the terrorist watch list, should have an automatic assault rifle. Republicans are avoiding the discussion, instead blaming it on the shooter's religion and the fact that Pulse was a "gun-free zone".
Before I go any further, know that I support gun control 100%. I've been appalled at the lack of action taken after every mass shooting, especially when every other western country has managed to end gun violence. But try explaining that to people on social media. In the past few years I've written three personal blog posts on the subject, which are relevant with each and very mass shooting, one of which was shared on multiple pro-gun Tumblr accounts, each of whom made fun of the blog post, ignored the sources, and once they found the author they made fun of me and sent me personal attacks.
The Pulse shooting is the second mass shooting to have a personal impact on me, but the first to have a long-lasting impact on my anxiety and mental health. At this point, I cannot go online and try to interact with people who care more about the rights of those on the terrorist watch list than the queer POC who died 40 minutes from my home. When I see memes or posts from pro-gun groups blaming a homophobic hate crime on the Pulse being a "gun free zone", I feel enraged and I want to cry. This isn't just some random shooting I can debate the cause of. This was in my home, a hate crime against a community I highly identify with.
The final reason why I no longer want to debate gun control on social media is because of what it does to me and my mental health. I feel passionate about ending gun violence, about stopping children and innocent civilians from being gunned down by an AR-15. So engaging with people online who think that gun free zones cause mass shootings, or that those on the terrorist watch list should have a gun, makes me angry. The problem is, internet fights lead nowhere. There's a very small change that you'll even convince the other person to listen to what you're saying, let alone change their mind. For me, it's no longer worth the headache and rage that these type of social media fights cause.
Given, I'm still going to fight for common sense gun control. I'll still attend rallies that fight for gun control, and I'll still contact senators that put the NRA above the American people. I'll even post my thoughts on my social media and political blog. But the days of wasting hours repeating the same facts over and over again is over. There comes a point where you have to put yourself first and step away from heated Facebook debates. This is the first step forward.
