Until today, I’ve been largely undecided on who to support in the 2020 election. I’ve favoured Warren, but I also like Sanders, Biden, and several other Democrats. I haven’t heard anything from any Republican candidate that makes me feel like they won’t either all be behind bars or camping out in a non-extradition-treaty country.

Today however, I saw news that has definitely swung me further in Warren’s favor: Jeff Zuckerberg has insinuated that, if Warren wins and attempts to “break up” the bit tech companies like the Facebook, he’ll have to sue the government.

Why has this swung me further in favor of Warren? I’m glad you asked (for Pete’s sake, just go with it). Is it because Warren wants to bust up the big corporations? Nope. I already knew that (and think it’s a pretty damned good idea).

Is it because I dislike the Zuck? Nope. Although, I’m pretty sure that, if I ever met him, I wouldn’t like him.

No, I’m moving farther into Warren’s camp simply because it will finally give me a strong enough reason to boycott the Facebook. Right now, I find myself spending way, way, way too much time on there (oh yeah, like I’m the only one). Honestly, it’s really kind of embarrassing. I am – theoretically anyway – a full-grown, adult, man. I should have better things to do.

I do, of course, have better things to do: writing, laundry, dishes, playing with the dogs, cleaning up after the dogs, feeding the dogs, letting the dogs in, letting the dogs out, wondering where the dogs are, etc., and my world would probably be better if I spent my time doing those things. I’d probably be happier too. But I just don’t wanna!!!!!

Also, DAMN!!!!, the Facebook is addictive. It sucks you in with the Ozzy-man videos, the cute critter videos, the idiots-falling-off-things-they-should-have-known-better-than-to-get-on-in-the-first-place videos, the family updates, etc. (you know, all the reasons you signed up in the first place), and then you find yourself trapped (or at least I find myself trapped. From here on out, I’ll just talk about myself. Feel free to feel the same or differently than me).

Trapped by the endless barrage of political bullshit, some of which I’ll agree with, and therefore specifically avoid attempting any kind of fact-checking, and some of which I’ll disagree vehemently with, leading me to:

a) fact-check the shit of out of it so I can post a snide “hahaha, this proves your post is bullshit!” response (I have to admit, that’s a personal favor of mine, although I do try to restrain myself), or

b) post a calm, erudite, well-thought-out response (a seldom-used technique) that will trigger a storm of angry, name-calling, poorly-thought-out responses, or

c) Skip the calm, erudite, blah, blah, blah, and just jump right into the on-line shitstorm with my own favorite brand of venom (I make a real effort to steer clear of this option but, in my feed anyway, this is clearly the most popular choice among other users of the Facebook).

I’m also trapped by an incredible amount of passive-aggressive behaviour: passive-aggressive Christianity (I’m not ashamed of Jesus, and not afraid to post it! Who else isn’t afraid?), passive-aggressive patriotism (I’m not ashamed of the USA-the Constitution-flag-military-president-whatever, and not afraid to post it! Who’s with me!). Passive-aggressive support (there are both secular and Christian varieties of this: a typical secular post reminds you that YOU are the storm, the Christian variety reminds you that God’s using this storm to protect you, make you grow, teach you to trust him, etc.) All essentially meaningless pablum or self-justification.

I’m trapped by a seemingly endless parade of people who seem to believe that growing up without computers and cell phones, and getting our asses beat confers some sort of moral superiority on us crusty old farts, without acknowledging that WE were the ones who gave all that crap to our kids, often because we wanted them to have all the things WE never had.

But mostly, I’m trapped by my own sort of spiritual or mental ennui. I’ve got things I want to say, but don’t know how to say them without getting pissed off, or without pissing off the very people I’m trying to reach. So, I find myself just endlessly scrolling, scrolling, scrolling my life away. At least that’s how it feels sometimes. What’s even sadder is that I’m pretty sure that the spiritual/mental ennui is actually generated by looking at the Facebook. It’s a vicious circle, and just like any other addiction, damned hard to break.

Now I realize that at this point, you’re all probably saying, “well then, just quit the Facebook, dumbass” (seriously, you guys need to start watching your language), and you’re absolutely right. The problem is that I’m just not good at doing anything good for me. The only thing that seems to work for me is anger.

And THAT’S why I want a good reason to boycott the Facebook (and don’t get me wrong, I’m not asking anyone else to join me – I don’t need to. The last thing I boycotted was Papa John’s pizza because, in my opinion, Papa John was a rich dickhead who cared way more about making money than about taking care of his employees. I boycotted Papa John’s on my own, and lo and behold, four or five years later, Papa John was ousted. That’s right – that’s the kinda power I’m wielding*). The Zuck suing the government to protect his right to exclusively violate my rights will really piss me off.

Maybe then I’ll develop enough character to get out of the social web. On the upside, bitching about it here has kept me from indulging it there. Of course, I’ll have to get on there to let you know I’ve written this. It’s a vicious circle.

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*Yeah, yeah, I know. Just let me live in my ridiculous little fantasy, will ya?