08.15.09
The Facebook Minefield
Confession: I self-censor like crazy on Facebook.
My friends list consists of family, friends from church, friends from high school to the present, friends I picked up on Mafia Wars and Farm Town, and a few folks I follow on other blogs. I have yet to figure out how to compartmentalize these Facebook Friends (FFriends) so that, say, high school friends can’t see my conversations on the more political blogs, or keep their prying eyes away from my votes in the endless polls floating around. So, for the most part, I steer clear of those Facebook updates that I don’t want ALL of my contacts to see.
Why? Because a few of these friends are leftist morons whose favorite argument can be summed up in four letters: STFU. They don’t like how you vote in a poll? They push the Easy button for their Two Minute Hate. Which makes it a lot harder to smile when they post photo galleries of friendlier times or take the fluffier 80s Trivia quizzes.
I’m not shy about expressing myself, but I want to treat Facebook as a refuge from the arena, not another front in the culture wars. Especially when the combatants are people I’d far prefer to stay on friendly terms with. Or, failing that, keep at a safe enough distance to avert the dreaded Nuclear “un-friend” Option.
I don’t care if someone doesn’t agree with me. I enjoy a good debate, as long as it’s reasonably respectful, or raucously anonymous. I have little tolerance for those who don’t grant me the same privilege.
But I hate discovering such people in the ranks of my FFriends. So, whenever possible, I keep quiet, and stick to Superpokes and Street racing.
Guess I’m more of a wuss than I thought.