General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Would everyone take a deep breather and Chill the F**K OUT! [View all]peggysue2
(10,912 posts)I was absolutely against how the whole Franken situation was handled and did not want to see the man resign. I also did not like the pile-on of his Dem colleagues, led by Gillibrand.
That being said, the outrage factor morphed into something beyond belief. Leave the Democratic Party? Not vote for Democratic candidates over this? Start a Lynch party for Senator Gillibrand?
Really?
The question should be who or what would all that negative energy benefit? Certainly not the Dems in 2018. Franken IMHO was a mistake. But compounding that error will not correct a misguided decision nor will constant posting about how evil Gillibrand and her Senate colleagues are win us any votes. Winning in 2018 is crucial, not only for the well-being of women but the country at large.
I think we need to be very careful in how outrage can be manipulated through social media. Someone reads something on FB and twitter, passes the tidbit along, the anger and frustration grows, multiplies and is then amplified, too often by those who do not have our best interests at heart.
I think the discussions are important but the over-the-top emotions, the burn the house down attitudes are ultimately destructive. Btw, I think our senators and congress critters are just as susceptible to this sort of message/emotionally driven manipulation. None of us are immune to this stuff. We really do need to be careful and always ask the question:
Who benefits?