Yesterday, I liked a photo from President Obama’s instagram. Just like 6,000 others did. Innocent enough, right? Apparently not.
As the night went on, I somehow found myself in a kinda-sorta debate with someone who wrote to me (on instagram) that I am brainwashed. Why I ever responded to this person is now beyond me, but I did and this is how the conversation went down...
Person #1: "Haha, it is clear you too have been brainwashed... just let the government run every aspect of our life... if Obama could find a way to tax every breath he would... the key is lowering taxes and getting the government off our backs... we need a real leader not someone that is a professional embezzler."
Me: "I haven’t been brainwashed, we obviously just have two different views of what our government should look like. Good thing we are a democracy and are allowed to have those views. I think it’s distasteful to tell others they are brainwashed or to go on someone’s social media and tell them to suck it" (a comment from earlier, directed at Obama). "We can have political discourse without being nasty to each other."
Person #1: "How can you say we are moving forward? What has happened that would prove any of that... if you looked at America’s bank account you would not say we are moving forward that’s when more money is going in than coming out. Not even close..."
Me: "Since 2009 to the present, there has been a net growth of 3.5 million jobs, 4 million of which have been created in the private sector. The public sector has seen layoffs, which, if Obama wanted big government, it would be the other way around. Unemployment overall has decreased from 10% to 8.1%. The auto industry has gained 75,000 jobs since Jan. 2009 and is up by nearly 140,000 jobs since June 2009. Romney said back then he wanted the industry to go bankrupt. He is now saying he supported Obama’s decision to save the industry now that he sees it was a successful effort. Obama has enacted $1 trillion in spending cuts to reduce the deficit. I call these numbers moving forward. Romney made his money off of loading companies with debt, paying himself with borrowed money, and when these companies failed, laying off workers while still making money on the backs of the tax payers. I really don’t understand how anyone could think this is a good guy to put in charge of our nation. The trickle down economics he is backing are what led us to the recession, which we will continue to pay for." (Yes, in case anyone recognizes these numbers and phrases, I did grab most of my info off this site as I was at work and needed to have quick access to the numbers without going through all the various sources.) :)
Person #1: "I suggest you watch “I want your money” may change your perspective on things...." (Now I don’t know what this is, but I’m assuming it’s some right wing propaganda video)
Then, a lovely Person #2 jumped in...
Person #2: ' “Forward” ? Cuz no need to correct past mistakes just make more... Sad. This lady looks like stage five sheep lol"
Again, Person #2: "You’re soooo dumb.. unemployment went down overall? Bullshit it’s at a all time high. And Obama’s debt is worse than Bush’s even. He had broken all his promises anyways, do you even know how to read the economy? Obviously not. Debt has went up considerably and the value of the dollar has gone DOWN. Mitt is no good either both are pro establishment and bought and paid for by the same interest. Idk what books you been reading but they are bull. moving forward without realizing what caused the recession is rediculous you are ignorant and your numbers are incorrect, those come from CNN?. He has broke every promise either way." (He then goes on to say that the person who wrote that “obama can suck it” is right.) (And yes, the spelling and punctuation are correctly copied.)
Needless to say, that’s where I stopped responding and I have gone through a lot of emotions since I first saw these responses. First, I was a little hurt at being called brainwashed and soooo dumb, I don’t know why I was, but I was. However, after letting these two strangers ruin my night, I woke up this morning feeling angry, disappointed, and quite honestly, flabbergasted.
As I was walking to work this morning, the scary realization dawned on me that these people are most likely voters. They will vote. Without any regard for facts or reality. They are voting based on right-wing propaganda and most likely, just what they hear their parents say. They are not doing any research, reading any political blogs of substance, or taking the time to find out anything about their candidates. And they will vote.
My next thought as I sat down at my desk was that I am truly disappointed in humankind. These people are bullies, plain and simple. Nowhere in my comments did I make attacks on anyone. I wanted to speak strictly about the facts and the reasons why I support our President. However, these two individuals personally attacked me multiple times. There was no political discussion really, no facts, no numbers, just personal attacks on my intelligence with the accompaniment of some horrible English skills. Apparently these two were just trolling around instagram, looking for someone to pick on. By listing facts and explaining my beliefs, I was called “brainwashed”, “stage five sheep”, “soooo dumb”, “ignorant”, and my personal favorite, I also don’t know how to “read the economy”. These people are bullies, with apparently nothing better to do. I wonder, if they are this unpleasant on the internet, what are they like in real life? I really hope that the internet is an outlet for them to get out their bullying tendencies, and that they are nice to the people in their real lives. One can only hope.
I am now taking my lunch break to write this because I have a final thought. To the commenters, Is this all you got?! Is this really all you got, those of you who don’t support Obama? Is this really all you got, the right wing? Is this really all you got, Romney supporters? Is this really all you got, bullies? For the right wing, are bullies their only weapon? Is this election going to be bullies vs. decent people? Is this your secret plan, to bully everyone into submission? Because based on your responses to my coherent argument, you don’t have a leg to stand on. You apparently have absolutely no idea of what’s going on in the U.S. today. You have no facts and no substance. You have no idea what caused the recession (hint: not Obama), where our economy stands, or what each candidate wants in the grand scheme of things. You don’t even know what you’re defending, or attacking. All you got is to call me ignorant, soooo dumb (I really love this one for some reason), and brainwashed. That is all you really got.