Posted on 09/18/2012 8:42:21 AM PDT by raccoonradio
Liking” a political candidate on Facebook is the new front yard campaign sign — except that it’s more like bringing that sign to the dinner table and waving it in your friends’ and family’s faces.
And that, social media experts and regular users of Facebook say, is a bad idea.
“Part of me wants to stay away from it, and part of me wants to go to the extreme and say, ‘I can’t believe you people,’ ” said Natalia Espinal of Waltham.
As the campaign for president has ramped up, the elementary school teacher, who describes herself as liberal, said Facebook has become a pressure cooker. Though most of her close friends share her political views, some co-workers and childhood friends don’t.
“ ‘Liking’ Mitt Romney is like putting a sign on your lawn, but writing a status you don’t agree with — you get really angry,” she said. “You don’t want to get involved, but you really want to.”
Steven Elsesser also finds political Facebook posts invite debate — and he usually engages. The 25-year-old registered Democrat said: “If I see something posted there and I think I have something constructive to say, I will note it.”
Elsesser, who grew up in a conservative New Hampshire home, said he and his mom have had some political disagreements on Facebook, and he tries to post links to studies or reports that factually back up his argument.
“My mom had a post about Planned Parenthood, and my reaction to that is ‘That isn’t true,” he recalled. “This is my mother. It bothers me that she thinks this thing is true. This is not some random voter. This is someone I know. I wouldn’t be a good active citizen if I didn’t say anything.”
He admits it would be healthier to say something face-to-face as opposed to via social media.
“Sometimes the comments escalate because you’re posting online instead of having the conversation. People might think you’re angry with them when you’re not. My mom will get defensive,” he said.
Which is why one etiquette expert votes for a ban of all political posts on Facebook.
“As a believer in democracy, we need to have these conversations, but not on Facebook. Go to rallies. Knock on your neighbors’ doors. Come over to my house to see the debate. But don’t go into why you should be voting for this person on Facebook. Convince them in person so there can be a real dialogue,” said Jodi R. R. Smith, president of Mannersmith, a North Shore-based etiquette consulting company.
Stephanie Weitzman, a Newton mother of two, agreed, saying she just has to count to 10 when she reads offensive posts from a former colleague.
“I get frustrated, but I haven’t unfriended him because I don’t know what the future holds and if I’d ever need to contact him,” she said.
I have family members who are big Dems etc. but other members who either are conservative or they're moderate but can't stand Obama and are "liking" Mitt, Brown (over Lieawatha), etc.
I think you can "like" a candidate but then have that be hidden. Not sure.
Of course we conservatives are a bunch of knuckle-dragging, Nazi, Rethuglicans who live in a previous century, want to force stuff down others' throats, fascist, fascist, fascist....according to them.
“I like Ike”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=va5Btg4kkUE
There’s a DJ in Boston named Barry Scott who plays “Lost 45s”
(I guess other stations run it too). He is definitely liberal and openly gay and has referred to the GOP nominee’s first name by a rhyming word that refers to excrement. While he has let his political views be known on facebook, I was pleased to hear him play the Reagan “It’s Morning in America” ad on his show (part of a “do you remember this” segment). It was nice to hear.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NUKAkm8A9nM
So, the article seems to be, to me, written about the travails of a “Romney” supporter “liking” something on Facebook. Why no Obama-likes-are-stupid? Let’s face it, Facebook is a myriad of self-absorbed, self-adulating, insecure people who apparently have nothing better to do. They might as well be walking around with placards that say “love me!” instead of those “we buy gold” hawkers we see by the road all the time.
Awwww, sounds like some people don’t like that conservatives are on facebook too! That was only supposed to be *their* tool for organizing, spreading the message, etc, wasn’t it?
I seem to remember a tidal wave of leftist democrat BS in a constant stream. The people i know who think that way are always trying to outdo each other with how committed they are to the cause. Likes, comments on stories, wanting you to support their groups, etc.
They are suddenly offended when someone likes their opposition. Last, that kid in the article. Do they have any idea how annoying they are when they “engage” and spew their “facts”, to “correct” hard learned beliefs of people twice their age? Obnoxious.
Well, I clicked like on the “I Will Not Vote for Obama” page so it is on my wall now. I also have likes for Mark Levin, Sarah Palin, and Paul Ryan. I’ve gotten sick of facebook though and avoid it as much as possible. I find it highly annoying.
I don’t care a whit for Facebook. I only use my account to post political stuff to like minded people. I block all posts from Obamugabe supporters. I’m more of a political junkie than most of my friends; so I glean more articles to post that they may not have seen. If political posts upset one’s “friends”, then maybe they weren’t real friends in the first place. One of my “friends” was a school teacher who boasted of her attempts to convince her students to support Obama.
Gee, how interesting that all of these exasperated FB people who are quoted are Obamugabe voters....
I think that this article is utter Bullsh#t! I’ve had people admonish me that posting my political views won’t change anyone’s mind. I don’t want to change anyone’s mind. I just want to remind them of what dumb-@$$e$ they are for inflicting Obama on the rest of us!
I have a bunch of friends on both sides. I’ve explained many times that my farcebook page is not a democracy. It’s a totalitarian dictatorship and I’m the dictator. I’ve had plenty of people defriend me and I could care less. The people that wear big boy pants are still there even though they disagree with me.
I have such a problem with this...I constantly post things to Facebook that I know my lib friends and some conservatives, probably will not have seen. It’s almost a compulsion. I probably have lost one relationship from it - a hard-left sister-in-law, who now ignores my attempts to get in touch. So recently I decided to save my posts to Twitter - where I don’t have any friends or relatives. But I’ve already broken my resolution - when I see things - like the photo of that filmaker being dragged off by the FBI in the middle of the night - it pisses me off so much that I have to post it- to alert my fellow citizens. I guess it’s a bad idea - I’m sure a lot of folks are angry at me, but part of me doesn’t care. I feel like my country is at stake.
Good point, reminding them what they’ve given us. It’s tough to change minds—especially of moonbats that will vote for Obama no matter what. (Then again I guess there’s a doc.
coming out, The Hope and the Change, right?, with people who voted for Teleprompter Man in 08 but will NOT this year.)
This objective gets frustrated when conservatives on FB see lots of other conservatives around, who point people at articles where the conservative view gets explained.
Yes and I have defriended people (especially if they’re only marginal friends, etc.) for their political views. In some cases (I do volunteer work for a college station) we interview musicians, and I post their interviews online. I friend them on facebook so they can get the link, etc. Then I get what I
call PBS: Political Bull S-—.
Sometimes I may love their music, but hate their politics.
I find that liberals are really obnoxious on Facebook. Most of the conservatives I know will click “like” for something they agree with, but they’re not constantly arguing, scolding and lecturing everyone, like the libs do. I have blocked many a rude, self-righteous lib because they destroy my enjoyment of Facebook.
I don’t Facebook and I don’t tweet. Waste of time.
I made only one exception for a 17 year old step-nephew who is still too dumb and inexperienced to know better.
The saying is that liberals will tolerate opposing views then are SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THAT THERE ARE OPPOSING VIEWS.
And they try to shut it down. For a couple yrs they even tried to get the Fairness Doctrine passed to silence conservative talk radio.
>>This objective gets frustrated when conservatives on FB see lots of other conservatives around, who point people at articles where the conservative view gets explained.
Good point...I do see people like a music promoter I know,
a big lib, who expresses his pro-Obama views...then get comments like “how can you possibly vote for this guy?” etc.
People like musicians who you might expect to be liberal but maybe are more moderate—and they basically say to the guy, hey, this Obama is too far left and I’ve had enough. There may be a “silent majority” win for Mitt that people don’t
expect (especially since a lot of the polls are heavily weighted toward Dems).
I was just looking at a Wikipedia page for the ‘72 pres election, a landslide that had Nixon getting over 500 electoral votes. McGovern got MA and DC, that’s it. Bumper stickers here in MA read: Mass: The One and Only. Don’t Blame Me I’m from Massachusetts. Nixon 49, America 1.
What a beat down for the Dems. (I was 10 at the time.)
And was interested to read on same page that McGovern tried to get Ted Kennedy as a running mate but was turned down.
They wound up getting Sargent Shriver instead (National Lampoon once had a feature called Sargent Shriver’s Bleeding Hearts Club Band, ha.)
Not Liking something can get people upset as well...I had one “friend” admonish me, because she noticed I never “Liked” her posts advocating “Marriage Equality.”
How often do your Lib acquaintances post political items? Do they seem to care at all what the effect is on you?
We need to say "no" to the "dictatorship of the easily offended"
I have “unfriended” or blocked at least three dozens on FB, some of them family, some I’ve known for decades. Don’t give a ratsass. You come out as a Leftist, you’re gone.
FB was, in its origin, a college website that was supposed to link up students; it grew exponentially from that base. So it’s no wonder that the site tilts Leftist.
When you think about it, FB is like FR. There are threads and pages that Freepers exclusively hang out on: the Canteen, the Hobbit Hole, the Undead Thread, and others. Same with FB. There are great people to meet here, and there are f@cktards as well. The one advantage FB has over FR is the block function; you never have to deal with FB’s f&cktards ever again.
I actually do both...because I like things like posting interesting videos, talking about my travels, and so on
(facebook) and one of my hobbies is following what goes on in radio, especially talk radio, and Twitter can be a good source of info. (”CBS making big announcement at 3 pm”...”CBS announces new format of WODS as top 40 ‘Amp’”...)
May be a waste of time for some but sometimes I can find out about an interesting restaurant, be alerted to a radio format change,
spread the word about a band’s show (”hey, I didn’t know you guys were playing tonight till I saw it on Facebook”)\
And there’s always instant reaction on FB. When the Patriots lost last wk’s game due to a shanked field goal, “I can’t believe what I just saw!”)
That’s your choice; but I have to tell you may be missing an opportunity to provide someone with an insight, which they might not otherwise have gotten.
Can't you "turn off" comments by some of your FB friends, but still keep them as friends?
>> liberals are really obnoxious on Facebook
Quite true and on Twitter too (go to twitchy.com for examples). I try to say things like “boy you guys on the Left really demonize people—saying Romney or his wife should be killed, etc. I don’t do that. I may disagree with their politics but I don’t get nasty.” And I may soon post, “I wish Obama luck in his next job...manager of a Radio Shack in Des Plaines, Illinois.” (Then again...would the Radio Shack
hire someone with HIS record? :) )
Actually, I have to say, for the most part they don’t post political things. One friend does, but he’s as crazed as I am on the left. So no, I’m pretty much the aggressor here.
there may be a way. There’s some kind of political filter (look it up) you can try. It may block posts praising Obama etc but then again you wind up losing all political posts.
You can
—skip over them
—”hide” the post
—defriend them
You may miss out on things like pictures of your relatives if you defriend them for their politics. Nice pictures of your cousin’s new baby, etc. wouldn’t be seen because they support Obama...
‘skip’ the political posts
‘hide’ them (hit the button, post disappears)
Or
defriend them (all their posts disappear.)
You noticed that, too, huh? ;-)
I keep getting "Friend requests" from people I knew in college. Out of curiosity, I clicked on the Facebook page of one of them. When I saw his favorite TV show was Rachel Maddow, I ignored him from then on. He still sends the requests; but it ain't gonna happen. Trouble is, once you "friend" an Obama supporting commie, you start getting posts from their like-mindless friends.
I tend to just ignore the political postings of most of my lib friends, so as not to get into a fight with people I’ve known for nearly 40 years or not just FB friends, but actual people I associate with on a day to day basis.
Now, if I post something political and they choose to comment, that’s a different story - don’t pick a fight with me on my own postings.
I LOVE IT!!!!!!
Mind if I swipe it?
Yes.
Also via ehow.com:
>>urpose
The purpose of the Hide feature is to enhance your overall experience on Facebook. You can hide activity, friends, games and posts from your profile and news feed so they disappear from view. This is especially beneficial if you have a good friend whom you’d like to keep on your list, but who plays Facebook games that inundate your feed with posts. By hiding posts from that application alone, you can continue to interact with your friend without all of the commercial posts.
Read more: What Does the Hide Button on Facebook Do? | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/info_8695556_hide-button-facebook-do.html#ixzz26q8gkzNK
(And you can also hide your own activity if you, say,
don’t want people to see that you Liked Mitt... well... )
Sometimes I can still be friends with someone even if I don’t like their politics—or their sports preferences (am a Red Sox fan but some co-workers, etc. are Yankee fans. I don’t shun them. 2004 was a fun year for me, though. Heh heh heh.)
Hannity: “Now I’m not saying you can’t be friends with liberals. You can go out to dinner with them—of course they’ll make you pick up the check—go bowling with them,
whatever. I just DON’T WANT THEM IN POWER.”
” (Then again...would the Radio Shack
hire someone with HIS record? :) )”
No, but Google would.
I think you’re correct. I think most people, on Facebook, wish to studiously avoid confronting things that disturb their idyllic pursuits.
Yes - that’s true...I guess I’m being gauche to drag in my politics...but it’s sure hard to resist “liking” some article that puts to lie the media spin on a story.
I’ve blocked/hidden the posts from a couple of people without “unfriending” them.
You might consider creating a different face book “persona” for posting your interviews, etc, so that you won’t have to deal with the politics or personal stuff of the musicians you interview when you “friend” them so they can get the info you post.
Please do! (That’s how I got it)
Oh no, I drag-in politics at every opportunity. I think that it’s a matter of survival. Better for me wake them from their reverie, than have reality provide us all with a rude awakening!
Not gauche at all!
I have a dear friend from HS, we met in 1974, and while we do not see each other often, we can pick up the phone and pick up where we last left off. We have always avoided politics on the phone or in person as we’re polar opposites. Not quite so easy on face book. My husband has asked me not to provoke her by commenting on her political posts - to which I agreed. However, he also has come to realize it is not fair to me to stick with that agreement when she insists on commenting on my political posts.
We haven’t spoken in a while, except about food on FB, because of my insinuation she was a hypocrite for claiming to being a devout Catholic while at the same time disagreeing with some of fundamentals of the Church teachings.
Thanks!!!!!
Dunno. I follow some of my favorite authors on Facebook. Also, Jeff Head and others. Used right, Facebook is pretty rewarding.
I didn't mention in my post above that I sometimes "lurk" on FB via my husband's dormant FB page... he is OK with that, btw! I never post on his account... as it is not MY account.
He joined FB during the 2010 campaigns to read posts by one particular local conservative political friend. Hubby hasn't looked at his account in over a year and a half, but back when he joined, he asked me to figure out how to hide certain posts, ie silly stuff (games, silly chit chat, etc.) by some family members - it was cluttering up his "feed" or "wall" or whatever it's called.
Luckily I do check his account once in awhile... you never know what photos will be "tagged" into/onto your FB account by other Friends. I've had to remove a few.
I've been in a quandry whether or not to join FB myself. I spend way too much time on FR to also have time for FB! ;-)
We do not discuss politics EVER but recently I included her in a anti liberal e-mail by accident. I got a blast from her OR her husband accusing me of forwarding false information. It was NOT false but to someone who gets their news from the NYT (yes in Mexico) it was not what they have been told.
I don't like to be preached to by a liberal NYT reader so I have a feeling that from now on I am busy when ever she/they comes to town.
The one that hurt the most was a man who was my roommate, neighbor, and bud when we were Lieutenants, then Captains together. We reconnected on FB after a ten-year silence. Caught up on family, career (he is a LTC now, and I was a SFC).
Then we got to talking about the wars. He did two tours in Afghanistan, interacting with the locals; I did one tour downrange and a lot of black work. He talked so sympathetic about the Muslims you would have thought he had converted himself and his whole family; it sounded like Stockholm Syndrome.
The final straw was when he started sending me links about supporting The Kenyan. I cut all ties after that.
I’m using your picture on my facebook page:)
Thanks
I found that ‘ignore posts from this friend’ feature on FB. I haven’t unfriend anyone, I just have them n ignore.
If they can’t live with my political views, I don’t need them as friends OR as family!
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