The Day I Lost a Facebook Friend Over a Political Post

Tuesday night was a night like any other. I was getting ready for bed, and then I remembered that I did not water my very first tomato plant. I stepped outside to give the plant a drink in hopes that I might actually receive some tomatoes this year. Let me tell you, it’s not looking good for tomatoes. I decide to sit on the front porch for a bit and enjoy the cooler weather. I pull out my phone and jump on Facebook to see what is going on and I come across a post that former colleague in my industry, who is no longer in radio, which I have been following for quite some time posted. The post, considering the landscape of the upcoming elections was of course was politically charged. This particular post in question had me scratching my head, as something didn’t quite add up. It was a photo of a candidate’s tweet with a couple of words that were spelled out of context in it. You know the one such as “your” when it should have been “you’re”,“there” when it should have been “their”… You get the point. Shots were fired towards the candidate in regards to using words properly. I decided to take it upon myself to actually look at this candidate’s Twitter account to see it for what it really was, because I could not believe it. I scrolled down to where the Tweet would have been, and I’m not seeing the Tweet in question. I am, but it is spelled correctly and the timestamp on the official page shows at 6:15 AM and said screenshot in question shows that the tweet was sent at 6:20 AM. There lies the first conflict.

Another person comments on the screenshot with a link to a site that shows political tweets that get deleted, and takes it as gospel and the initial screenshot of the tweet was right there. However, the tweet in question is showing that it was deleted. The timestamp showed the time of the deletion as 38 minutes later… which would be 6:58 AM. However, the time at which it was deleted showed more than 14 hours later.

After gathering this information, I point out these discrepancies, which lead me to believe that the screenshot of the tweet couldn’t have been true. I head to bed and think nothing of it.

Fast forward to this Wednesday afternoon. I see this screenshot yet again on Facebook, but from a different person this round. I went into my activity log to see if there was anything more posted on said persons post that would give me any insight to prove to myself that this is authentic or in fact a falsely created image that has been making its round on social media… But I don’t see that my comment is in existence anymore on my activity log. Odd… I look this person up, only to find out that we are no longer friends.

This person that I looked up to, if circumstances were different and other life choices were made, could have ended up as my manager at one point in time, in a different city, in a different state. He was a leader. I simply questioned the authenticity of something he found online and posted. My statement of authenticity was in no way intended to instigate a political fight, but to find out if it was simply the truth. My statement was silenced and I was banished by someone I considered to be talented, smart and intuitive leader by simply wanting the facts. The statement was made, loud and clear... “If you have a different opinion than I do on something, you and I cannot get agree on anything, ever” without anything being said. I am not mad at this person. I did however, lose my respect that I had for them due to how they handled the situation. As in this day in age, if you simply disagree with someone or you are wrong, you don't have to explain, apologize, or admit that you were incorrect or have conflicting views. You simply delete the post, comment or disconnect with someone who you don't agree with by a swift click of a button. Just like that, whatever the disagreement was or comment that was made incorrectly is gone off of the face of the earth like it never happened.

I didn't write this to write about politics or any one presidential candidate. So please see this for exactly what it is. It is about the truth. If you want to be a critic of anything, politics, food, community, etc. base your opinions upon truth. Things can easily be manipulated online to garner attention in a negative fashion quite easily. We as human beings and citizens of the United States have an opportunity unlike any generation before to have our voices heard through social media. I am not telling you to stop your criticism of politics; in fact we should encourage it. Do so in a truthful manner. It’s not that hard. Some people take the time to type out a well thought out comment in regards to your disdain and feel proud of the work you have put forth to the voice your opinion to the world. Why not make sure what you are about to say about a subject is indeed factual and not a fabricated lie to garner attention?