On Being Color-blah

Hold my Drink Podcast Blog, Episode 45

Being rational and reasonable on Twitter. Is it possible? Can you really “love your neighbors” on such a platform? One person does. With steely commitment he refuses to dehumanize even in the face of criticism. Who is this superman? Angel Eduardo, the King of Star-manning, and a Warrior of Compassion.

I look for him to trip up. For someone to finally get his goat. Not because I would celebrate such an occurrence (I wouldn’t) but because it just doesn’t seem possible. What is his kryptonite? While wading through the waters of the Twittersphere, I often find myself wondering, what would Angel do (WWAD)?

My philosophy is a bit different. It works for me, mostly, but it is more passive — don’t engage. That’s not entirely true. I engage all the time, but on my terms, whether in a conversation on a podcast or in a long-form correspondence or article. I’m a little ADD and so for my own mental health, getting into the short quips on social media usually sends me spiraling down the rabbit hole, bouncing off the walls on the way down. I then must claw my way back up, nursing my wounds and salving my scars.

I have found a strategy that works for me, but it isn’t active in persuading malicious social media mavens to look beyond the screen and value the humanity in the person on the other side of the…