Twitter is a toxic place when it comes to politics. You'll find countless angry rants about Donald Trump and reactions to current events. For some people, Twitter can be a place to share their opinions with the world without feeling ashamed. Twitter can be a calming place to keep up with others. For me, it's a major source of stress and anxiety.
I love Twitter because it's full of great memes and dog videos. Honestly, I didn't come to Twitter for politics. Even when I try to hide political content, it always comes back like a friend I cut off a long time ago.
Some people think that since I don't like talking about politics, it means that I don't care. This is what hurts me the most because it's far from the truth. I care about politics. I just don't agree with what a lot of people think, and i often get overwhelmed. I've never been a fan of confrontation. Getting involved in politics requires a lot of confrontation and argumentation. That's just not what I want to do.
Also, my views are misrepresented and sometimes even demonized on social media platforms. I'm characterized as an extremist on Twitter just because I lean conservatively on the political spectrum.
Basically, I'm tired of Twitter being so binary.
Let me explain what I mean.
Angry Republicans will often take to Twitter to argue with "triggered liberals." Angry Democrats will often take to Twitter to "call out racist Republicans." The awful trend here is the labeling. Each side of the political spectrum is labeled as incorrect or immoral.
No matter what your political views are, respect is important. Yes, there are extreme Republicans out there who are racist, which is immoral. Most of us, however, are not extreme and just believe in a government that is less involved. Seeing the extremes come out on Twitter is hurtful and just misrepresents everything a lot of people stand for.
It's about time we stop yelling at each other through Twitter debates. It's time to start listening to each other. It's okay to rant and be angry, but we have to be respectful. We have to stop misrepresenting both sides of the political spectrum and overgeneralizing. I won't do it to you, so don't do it to me.
We need to make Twitter a wholesome place like it was back in 2014. Yes, dog videos and politics can coexist peacefully. I promise. It just takes some work and cooperation.
