Hello my Friends, Family, and Fans,
Last week I made the foolish mistake of commenting on a comment. The original post was a variation on, “Always punch Nazis,” and the comment was something along the lines of, “Come and punch me.” I decided to be snarky and say, “Wow. Admitting to being a Nazi… wow.”
I should have ignored it. He and the other people who commented didn’t want to have a discussion, they wanted to be angry. They seem angry that people call them Nazis or dismiss their beliefs because they’re associated with Nazis. (At least that’s what I get.)
I tried to reason with them and say that they just have to keep hate groups out of their protests and that’s all there is to it. (Before you ask. Yes. If I’m ever in a protest and the person next to me flies a Nazi or KKK flag, they’re going into the trash, and the flag too.)
This is obviously an extreme example, but it illustrates a trend. I like to be right, I also like to know the truth, but most of all I hate false information. It often gets me in trouble like I said in this post. The misinformation itches like a rash and I need to say something.
Unfortunately, people don’t see correction as a dislike of misinformation, but as a personal attack.
The want to be precise is something that runs in my family. Persnickety is a family hobby and it’s both frustrating and understandable. Sometimes you just want to get to the message and when people nitpick the details, it feels like they are purposely missing the point. (I also realize this is all a trait of neurodivergence but that’s a whole other post.)
Hank Green is a Youtuber I’ve been following for almost twenty years and I’ve always had a great respect for his dedication to the truth, to the point of making correction videos when he gets things wrong.
He posted these two videos recently discussing the truth and the quest to have an allegiance to the truth. Basically fact checking yourself and making sure you’re not just accepting things that fit into your bias. They are extremely entertaining to watch and I love that he is able to admit when he was wrong.
With the American elections last week, the upcoming Canadian federal elections, and the upcoming Ontario provincial elections; we need to be on our toes to avoid getting caught up in bias, falsities, and outright lies.
In this age of near infinite information at our fingertips, it’s important that we check to make sure we aren’t propagating false information.
But what do I know?
Stay safe and be kind,
Éric