When Did The Liberal Left Turn Into a Woke Cult?

Indoctrination can be achieved in many different ways.  From the drip drip method that is barely even noticeable, to utter submersion.



When I was a child, I went to a religious primary school where the local vicar was a regular visitor.  I was told that I was a Christian before I even knew what or who a Christian was.  Religion was dripped into my forming mind with prayers three times a day and hymns at morning assembly.



At that age I just did what I was told, believing that that was just the way things were.  I was not old enough to realise that I choose to have a religion or not.  I could choose a different mindset, a different path.

Photo by Zac Durant on Unsplash

Religion and I collided a few years later and we went our separate ways.



Religion can be many things for many people. A hub to the local community, an enrichment to people's lives, or simply just a comfort or safety net that some need or want.  It can be part of who someone fundamentally is and can form the basis of their moral code, their bench mark for right and wrong.



But religion can also be escalated to cult level, making you condone things you never would before.  Do things that you would never do.  It is also the perfect excuse to control people and has been used in this way for centuries.  Blind faith can be dangerous.



Religion has been a very useful tool for the subjugation of women.  It is, to quote one example, what allowed, arranged and condoned thousands of young girls and women to be locked away in the Magadelene Laundries in Ireland for the crime of having a baby, for being presumed "promiscuous", or simply in some cases; being too pretty.



It is why women were told that their place was in the home and the man's place was head of the household, and her.  "It is written in the bible Susan, don't you want to obey the word of God?"

"Wives, be subject to your husbands, as to the Lord. 

For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the 

head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 

As the church is subject to Christ, so let wives also be subject in everything 

to their husbands” (Eph. 5:22–24)."

Blind faith is how monsters are not only made, but how they can flourish in plain sight.



So where and why does this fit into what I wanted to talk about today?  Because blind faith is not just about religion.   It can be about any movement, group, shared belief system.



When I began to become interested in politics and feminism, the left side of politics seemed like the perfect fit for me.   The "morally right"  The good.  The just. There was a general assumption that the liberal position was the good and anything to the right was wrong.  There was only one choice for me, clearly.



So too with feminism.   I wanted rights and equality for women.  As I learned about feminism I also educated myself about intersectional feminism, named to include woman of all races, ethnicities, class, culture, age etc.  I wanted that.



So there I was, a left leaning intersectional feminist when one day, I saw a man winning a women's cycling competition. A man who identified as a woman but not only identified, said he was an actual, biological woman.



From there my fall down the rabbit hole was swift.  Suddenly, a man with a beard who wore skirts and had decided he was a lesbian, was a real woman.  One who went into schools for Stonewall teaching children they could be born in the wrong body.  Listen to Magdelen Burns about that one.

Lesbians who didn't accept "lady dick" were transphobic.

Talking about being pregnant and giving birth was transphobic because it didn't include transwomen.  Having a women only group on Facebook talking about menopause was transphobic.  Men's mental health groups were disbanded because they would not include transmen.  Women meeting to discuss women's rights were transphobic.  Refuges should accept transwomen, or they would lose their funding (again this year too).  I could go on and on and on and on.



Every FUCKING thing that did not place men identifying as women front and centre, became transphobic.



We were told that words were actual violence.  That we were killing people by saying the immutable fact that you cannot change sex.  A woman lost her job for saying this.  Told that her views were "not worthy of respect in a democratic society".



Children as young as FOUR being referred to a gender clinic.  Teenagers being prescribed puberty blockers like they were sweets.  4500% rise in referrals to Tavistock.  Three quarters of those being girls.



The rabbit hole is so deep you could drown in it.



The world went mad before our eyes.  Yet people, including myself, who questioned this idealogy, were called bigots.  That anything other than the ultra left view was right wing. We were not worthy of being called feminists.  We were TERFs.  What the ACTUAL FUCK???



Where did the left go so wrong, so fast?  Moreover, why the hell have so many fallen for the indoctrination?  Why are doctors now scared to question if a child is transgender?  Why have politicians fallen hook, line and sinker for this?  Lisa Nandy saying that transwomen who rape women belong in women's prisons because they identify as women.  This article goes a long way to explain that.



So where do liberal feminist women who have been thrown out of the left, thrown out of what is now called feminism do?  We fight.

We organise.  We educate.  We agitate.

My Name Isn't Jack

*For those who came here from @WhatJackThinks - I'm sorry, my name isn't Jack.  I am a woman.  Let me explain.

A couple of weeks ago I saw a man on Twitter who had conducted an experiment by creating an account as a woman, talking about the same issues and having the same stance as himself.  You can read about it below:

THE GREAT TWITTER GENDER SWAP EXPERIMENT OF 2019

Allison Floyd had been floating an idea around for awhile for men to change their avi’s and bios to women genders and continue to twitter as normal.

The idea was simple.

— Michael McKenzie (fmr SGT) (@PatriotMacK) October 13, 2019

His experiment was supposed to last for 3 days, however on the third day before he could end it, his alter ego account was banned.  During that time he gained 250+ supporters and gave him a perspective that can only really be experienced, not learned second person.  I highly recommend you read his thread.

Michael's social experiment interested me as someone who had started talking about gender critical issues 6 months ago (for those who are inexperienced with the term, specifically how trans rights are affecting and reducing women's and children's rights which affects society as a whole).  

For me, entering the gender critical world is a little like being Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (go with me on this).

If you are a woman, you are Dorothy when she begins her journey on the yellow brick road.  She does not know how long the road is, how hard the journey will be; who is friend and who is foe and is not even sure about where she is going.  She befriends a few people along the way, but she is constantly attacked by flying monkeys and an evil witch on a broomstick trying to stop her at every turn.  It is not an easy journey.  But it IS rewarding in the end.

If you are a man, you are Dorothy when her house has just landed on the wicked witch.  She did not do anything to accomplish this herself, but she is surrounded by applause and is given a parade.  She literally lands on the scene by accident and is given the keys to the city.

This was my belief prior to this experiment and I wanted to see how true my belief was.  What actually happens when a man joins a highly charged debate.  I wanted to try and do this as fairly as possible.   I knew what my journey has been like over the past 6 months and I had my presumptions, as above, about how men experienced that same journey.

So, I created Jack.  I had a spare account already created last June that was not being used (apart from reading tweets from those who had banned me), so decided to update it and give it to my alter ego, Jack, the plumber from London who was new to the gender critical (GC) debate but whose interested had been sparked by his girlfriend.

What Jack Thinks

I decided beforehand to give the experiment a week and see how it went.  What happened was an absolute whirlwind.

I started by following a few generic accounts.  Match of the Day, Playstation, the Daily Mail etc.  Although I told a couple of people about my experiment, I followed no gender critical (GC) accounts.  I wanted organic traffic and follows because of what I was saying, not because I followed them first.

By the end of the first day, not saying anything profound or anything that had not been said by female members of the GC community many, many times before, Jack was a hit.  Within 24 hours, he had 501 followers.

Although I expected some curiosity about the account as men are fairly thin on the ground in the GC community, I never expected so many followers in one day.  I could not keep up with the notifications.

My follower traffic remained organic.  I followed some recommended accounts suggested to me by others, around 20ish I think, but apart from those, every single follower found me.  I did not expect this, certainly not at this level.

Aside from the follower account growing by the second, I was flooded with helpful suggestions of who to follow, articles to read, links to follow; what not to say, how to navigate not be banned by Twitter.   

Men of the GC community followed and popped into my mentions and DMs to say hi.  The advice from men and women was abundant and something I had never experienced as a woman joining the debate 6 months ago.   Even Graham Linehan popped up in my DMs sharing his latest post.

As a woman, respect and trust had to be earned.  There is a reason why the vast majority of us are anonymous on Twitter.

Tweets that I posted, again, nothing special in terms of what I said, received hundreds of likes and retweets.  Like somehow, my words as a man, had more authority.  Were worth sharing more than women who tweet day in and day out about the same issues.

I confess that tweeting accounts that my main account was banned from gained me some pleasure.  As a man I also somehow felt that I could get away with more.  In the majority, my belief held apart from one block, from Rachel McKinnon.

My tweets got more pointed, more up to the minute with the news and things happening on Twitter; more in line with my own account, although absolutely fueled and emboldened by my alter ego.  

On day 2, after the tweet above about putting children on puberty blockers, the TRAs found me.  Generally the discourse was different than I experienced on my own account.  Although highly charged, the tweets exchanged were more of an argument and a facts debate rather than abuse, threats and dismissing my words out of hand.

I felt safe.  The worst thing someone called me was a "little boy" as opposed to on my own account where I have been called TERF scum, evil, a transphobic whore, a far right slut.  

I started to receive a few tweets from women about my surging popularity and how I was being given more leverage as a man.  That tweets I received, would have received threats had I been a woman.  I could not disagree as I have seen it, first hand and is documented, many times.  Example below has had account names removed, but the full screenshot is on the link above.

Men do not, in the GC community, to my knowledge (please feel free to correct me and I will update), do not receive this kind of abuse.   They are not threatened with being fucked by a baseball bat for saying that men cannot become women.    

I confess that I lost my way a little in those first few days, completely overwhelmed by the attention and number of notifications.  Some people were a little suspicious.  Jack even got his own thread on Mumsnet with some willing to give the benefit of the doubt and others thinking that it was a sock puppet account or an amusing parody.

I awoke on day 3 to find I had been given a 12 hour ban.  I am not proud of the tweet that received the ban as it is nothing I would normally ever say.  As Jack I felt like I could say what I wanted, as it turned out, I couldn't.  That said, although rude, it did not direct hate, did not misgender.  "Go play in traffic, fuckwit" however was not my finest hour.  I'm sorry I said it.

During my 12 hour ban I decided to perform the search that many GC people have done.  The Twitter shadowban test (although Twitter claim that they do not shadowban anyone).  The results shocked me.  My main account as I knew, was shadowbanned.  Jack was also shadowbanned, but also had a suggestion for a search ban.

This may be down to the amount of traffic the account had attracted in that 3 days, but still, checking two of the list was surprising after only a few days on Twitter. 

 So here we are, at the end of my 7 day experiment.  

As Jack, I certainly received much MUCH more leeway, exposure, advice and boosting than I ever did as a woman.  I know that this is the experience of the very vast majority of the women in the GC community.  He received a 12 hour ban that I did not expect (although I have never said something like that on my own account & have been confrontational; I have not received a ban, yet).

One thing I have noticed from this experiment is that on my main account I myself have found myself retweeting men as much as women, which is disproportionate given my man to woman ratio of the people I follow.  That is something I will address going forward on my own Twitter account.

Jack was also deboosted and had a suggested search ban at an alarming rate given the number of days on Twitter, but I do have to wonder about the high volume of traffic versus the rarity of a man joining the community rather than a woman.

I am sad to let Jack go.  I felt so free with that account to say what I wanted, although my experiment did show that men do receive some of the same results as women.  But not, as I suspected, the same abuse and threats as women do.

He also managed to gain 800+ followers in 7 days whereas on my main account, I am on just over 500, over a period of 6 months.

I would be interested to see what would happen in other communities.  So far the results in the gun control and gender critical community have been very similar.

To those who followed me, gave me advice, tips and support, I am sorry if you felt deceived.  I hope that you can understand the point of this experiment and that I did not intend to hurt anyone or take advantage.

Signing out now as Jack, returning back to my home at @RipleysChoice.

It Is Better To Be In the Dark?

*Lengthy post - I think (and learn what I think) while I write sometimes

As we grow older, our thoughts and opinions change and evolve; as we do.

We learn about new subjects and topics.  We educate ourselves on the things that we are interested in.  We may take more interest in the news and current affairs and become more worldly.  

As the years roll on, we learn that the best way to educate yourself on a topic, particularly one that has large numbers of followers on both sides of the equation, like politics for example, is to look at both sides of the argument equally and then make up your own mind.

I recently undertook a political compass test which showed what you associated with politically and was surprised to find that I was much more of a centrist than left wing.

I have to admit that it was not until my early thirties that I became even remotely interested in politics and to be honest, I did not even know what left and right wing even meant.  Since then I joined Twitter.  I educated myself politically.   I learned about feminism, declaring myself one in the process.  This lead me finding out about MRAs, MGTOWs, Red pillers, incels.  Then religion.  Extremists on all sides.  The abortion debate.  It went on and on.

Each new thing that I learned about and discovered sent me down another rabbit hole of discovery.

I believe that it is important for everyone to have at least a basic knowledge of current affairs, what is happening in the world, how you generally lean politically; what is happening in the news.  

The question that I have today however is, has all this knowledge, learning and second by second discussion about everything on platforms like Twitter actually made us happier; or has it affected our lives in a negative way?  

Either way, you can never go back.  You can shut down your social media and stop reading the news, but once that thirst for knowledge and discovery has taken you, it is a hard thing to throw away.

At the moment I feel like we are in such a complicated timeline.  You can be whatever you want to be, identify with what or whomever you wish to be and say it loudly and proudly.  

At the same time however, the language that we use, the thoughts that we have and the opinions we share (whether fact and science based on not) are getting policed more and more each day.  The left wing mantra of "Be who you want to be" now has a double edged sword of "Accept and roll over backwards to accommodate everyone, or you might find the police at your door".

Out of my friends and family, with one exception being the man I am dating, I am the most politically driven, socially aware, opinion driven person in my group of people.  

Whilst having a basic (and frankly enough knowledge that is needed) about what is going on in the world, my friends and family care less and know little about things like feminism and MGTOWs.  They do not argue women's body autonomy rights on the internet nor know anything about the current ongoing battles between women and gender critical feminists versus trans rights activists.  They don't really follow current affairs.

You know what though?  They are happier for it.

I read the news and what is going on in the world each morning and throughout the day.  I am always up to date with what is the current big trend.  Things that make me angry when I hear them, things that make me worry, topics that suddenly everyone has to come out and state where they stand.  Which as said above, can now get you arrested.

Although better informed, I am not happier for having all this knowledge.  Having many opinions and beliefs and arguing/justifying them online has not made me a happier person.  I was happier and freer when I did not engage at all!

Is it better to be in the dark after all?  Or, do we need to better police ourselves at how many times we engage, how many times a day we look at the news, Twitter, etc and when we access these services.  Not first thing in the morning for example.

In the end, I will always want to be informed, I will always engage and I will always say what I think.  So what I need to do, and I suspect many others do too, is to reassess my engagement so that it does not detrimentally affect my life and mental health.

Balance, as well, is the key.

Thoughts and Prayers

Part One

I have been trying and failing to write this post for months.  But I have found it impossible.  For someone who has thoughts on everything and usually writes about them, why can I not put my words on to the screen now?

Which brings me to my first question.  At a time when there so much going on in the world, when did we go onto this auto pilot, merry go round from hell of "thoughts and prayers".  Has social media desensitized us to tragedy?

I remember joining Twitter in the beginning of 2010.  I remember being mocked at the time for joining a site that talked about "what you were having for breakfast".  I joined because I heard there was a great Formula One community on there and I wanted to check it out.

Twitter will always mean a lot to me because it introduced me to that great community.  In time it introduced me to the blogging community and to start my blog in earnest.  It enabled my words.  It encouraged them.  It introduced me to new ideas, new perspectives, causes and campaigns that I have never contemplated before.  It enriched my view on the world and what was happening in it, it educated me and opened me up to new ideas.  My journey into confidence started on Twitter.

My interest in politics started as a result of reading articles and the thoughts of people on Twitter.  It checked my privilege.  It showed me what others face in their lives every day; just for being how they are, for what colour their skin was, who they loved and what they believed.

Fast forward to 2018 and Twitter, and the world, is a different place.

ISIS, bombings, refugees, suicide bombers, school shootings, people being shot and killed by police just because they were black, the rise of Donald Trump and the far right.  Katie Hopkins calling refugees who die in the sea while trying to escape as "cockroaches".  We live now in a place where incels think they should be allocated women and celebrate mass shootings.  Where neo Nazis march the streets screaming "white power" and run down people where they stand.

We live in a time where death threats and hate speech is common place and any objection to them is called "taking away free speech".   We live in a time where an MP can receive 600 rape threats in one night. 

A place where Donald Trump can label anything he doesn't like as #fakenews which his followers lap up and escalate.  Where actual fake news stories can lead to a man shooting up a pizzeria because he was told that it was a pedophile ring.

A time when family members of the Manchester bombing victims are trolled and accused of faking their sibling's death.  Where conspiracy theories run rife about the shootings at Sandy Hook and Las Vegas.  Where children who have survived a school shooting are being accused of being crisis actors.

Something seems to happen every damn day and with each new tragedy, the desensitization seems to escalate.  A tragedy happens, we post about thoughts and prayers and wonder, blindly, how this could happen whilst simultaneously, subconsciously, waiting for the next thing to happen. Then the cycle begins again.

How did we get to a place where the right wing media, politicians and gun lovers are attacking and ridiculing children, who have survived a horrendous school shooting, for making a stand for gun control.  Where instead of fire drills, children practice what to do if a school shooting happens.

I don't recognise this place; yet it is the world we are living in.  We bounce from one tragedy to another, without some seemingly understanding the implications, the scale and the seriousness.  We say "thoughts and prayers" without registering anything.

Is this what we are now?  Have I articulated this how I want?  I'm not sure.

What I do know is that there is still good in the world.  Voices that will not be drowned out.  People helping people.  People rising up, standing up and saying "No".

Talk about this comes in Part 2 of this blog.

Look Where You Wish

I watched the Look Up video recently and have seen it quickly go viral all over the internet, the irony of which is not lost on me…. 

The fact that the video was created for the internet makes it nothing more than a cog, taking full advantage of the machine of which it is a part of.  The video is just a highly romanticised concept, practically begging to be shared across the social networks.  It isn’t telling us anything we don’t already know and I have seen similar such videos saying the same things.

Preaching at people that we should be less reclusive and reserved is all very well and good, but not all of us are naturally outgoing.  It is ok to be introverted; it is ok to be shy.  It is ok to be whoever you are.  Technology at its core is about making life better for people, finding solutions and improvements to whatever you need and social media is about connecting people in different ways which is a good thing.

I agree that sometimes we can be too connected to our phones and in a social setting it can be that everyone is on their mobile phones or on the internet; socialising with others yet ignoring the people around them.

But there is another side to the story.  (At this point I must mention that Big Fashionista has spoken about this subject in Look Down and you should definitely read it!).

For some, social media isn’t just a form of entertainment.  It isn’t just about playing Farmville or seeing how many likes you can get on your Facebook status.  It isn’t just about Lolcats or sharing your day on Twitter.

For some, it is an escape route.  For some it is a place where they can find a community of people that they don’t have in their offline life.  For some it is the place to go searching for answers when none can be found.  For some it gives you a voice where you had none.  For some, what you find on the internet ends up enriching all aspects of your life, both online and off.

Many of those reasons I can apply to myself.  I can pinpoint the exact point that my life started to turn around for the better.  I joined Twitter.  The small voice that I had, it got louder.  My opinions got stronger.  I found people like me, who think the way I do, who have experienced what I have. 

I know a network of people online that I could never have found offline.  A group of bloggers who are based all over the country who get exactly who I am.  They understand the way I think, why I think it and have lived similar lives.  This couldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for the internet.

My offline life has been enhanced by the time I spend online and I have met some amazing people, some whom I have met face to face, others who I am yet to meet but feel like I know well.

The beauty of the internet and social media is that you can get out of it as much, or as little as you want.  It is a resource.   Yes we should probably spend more time off our phones when in company and should ring our friends more than we should text, but the benefits of social media are vast and shouldn’t be discounted or discouraged.

Eaten by the Internet

When does social networking move from pleasurable to a pain?  When did it change from something that you nip onto in a spare five minutes, to being something that you constantly maintain and check?

I first entered the realm of social media with Myspace.  It is so long ago now I can't even remember what I did there, but it wasn't anything that was particularly addictive, or fun.  From Myspace I was encouraged by a friend to move to Facebook.  So it began.

Fast forward through to 2013 and I have Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and a blog.  How did that happen?  I'm not even sure myself but I know that a chunk of my time is taken maintaining or checking these sites.  How profitable is it to me however?

Looking at each one and the reasons I am there, it becomes easier to see how you can get caught up.

Facebook is used to catch up with friends.  It was the first of the social networks to go global and it is still the most popular, thereby being the one that you can still catch up with most people you know on.  It is however also massively irritating, although more down to the things people post as opposed to the site itself.  Baby pictures, quotes, it's just not interesting enough to hold my attention.

That took me to investing Twitter.  I joined Twitter to find like minded Formula One fans.  It has grown into an addition that I don't want to quash.  I love my Twitter and I'm keeping it.

 

Google Plus I was forced into having when I changed my email to a Gmail Account.  I ended up using it for blog purposes but don't use it for any other reason.  I see fail to see the point of it but somehow, I still end up having a look 2-3 times a week.

 

The last of my online addictions is of course this blog.  This is the place that I spend most time on and many many hours have been spent in maintaining and adding to the blog.  I don't regret these hours however as the blog gives back to me as much as I give it.

 

This is however how you end up with so many internet commitments.  I have managed to justify all of mine, quite easily.  I think that as long as it doesn't interfere with your working life, and you have a social life outside of cruising around Twitter, there isn't a problem.

 

This said, I have just got my claws into Tumblr.  Goodbye social life, it was fun xx

 

 

Thank You

This time of year makes me hug my loved ones a little tighter than usual.  It's the time of year to cherish your loved ones and remember those who are no longer with you.  It's a time for looking back, taking stock, and giving thanks.

Today's post is about giving thanks.  My previous post looked back over the past year and it shocked me to realise how far I've come.  Probably to my detriment, but when I make a change in my life, it's always something I keep to myself.  I just go forward with what I want and my family are used to me going along with my own little path.

My path this year has been a little different.  A huge amount of changes have been made.  These have all been due to the blogs that I have discovered and have been reading over the past year.  Reading the stories of these other woman has inspired me to come out from behind my wall of insecurity and into acceptance.

Becky from The Ramblings of Mrs BeBe was the first blog I discovered.  She was the first to make me realise that I could wear the clothes I wanted, and they didn't have to be black.  I wasn't a pariah.  You can still be pretty and be plus size.  

From Becky's blog I went on to find others such as Toni from The Only Way is Toni, Clare from Mrs Brown's Thoughts and Betty Bee from Betty Bee Towers 

Turns out, a blog can change your life.  Those blogs have changed mine.  It may sound over dramatic to some, but inspiration can come from many places.  Change has to come from a starting point.  You need a spark to start you off.  These girls have been my spark.

I should also mention my friend Kate.  I've only met her the once.  I found her, or she found me, on Twitter.  She is as we call it, my sister from another mister.  She's absolutely awesome and has also give me courage over the past year, whether she knows it or not. 

Aside from Kate I've never met any of these women but they have been such an inspiration in the past year.  The girl from one year ago who had no confidence, who was in denial over things in the past that affected the now, who had no courage, who expected the world to laugh at her, is very, very grateful.

Thank you, lovely ladies.  

Split Personality? No it's just Social Networking

I think that this is going to be one of the posts where you either agree completely with me, or you think I’m crazy.

 

Have you noticed that each of the social network sites brings out a different side of you?  Most people tend to say for example that on Facebook, you tend to show the “ideal” version of yourself.  An inaccurate portrayal which shows the world you who want to be, how wonderful your life is, even if it isn’t.

You have the “look how many friends I have, how popular I am” types, the mothers with the countless baby updates and photos see Baby, Baby, Baby Nooo! just to show what a good mother they are, the woe is me types etc etc.

People say about my Facebook that I am too picky about the photos on it of me, and I always always make them laugh.  So basically, what that boils down to is bad self image and wanting people I know to like what I am saying.

With Twitter, it is different again.  

I only have three people I actually know on my follow list.  The rest I met through Twitter and have never met in real life, and I like that.  I can and do say what I want without the fear of being judged for what I think or say.  I talk to likeminded, fun people about things we love, or just have a banter with.

Twitter brings out my ranting side, my willingness to talk to new people and gain other’s perspectives on things, not just my own.  It has brought out my opinionated side more in my real life, which is a good thing.

Google+ brings out my techie side but with so few friends on there that have crossed over from Facebook, I don’t really bother with it much so won’t here either.

So that’s the social networks.  One is the “like me” side of me and one is the ranting, opinionated side of me.  Both are the twin halves of me, but they will never be joined together, not on a social network site.

Here however, on this blog, is truly me.  When I write, good or bad, it is always truly what I think and who I am.  You get the insecure side, the ranting side, the funny side, the opinionated side, every side I have.  I never thought when I started this blog that it would be anything more than just a bit of fun.  I never expected to post as much as I do or be as honest as I have.  The blog is the virtual me and I find myself quite possessive of it now I have it.

When I first started putting the links of my blog on Twitter I was truly terrified.  I don’t know what I expected people to say, but I know I expected a negative reaction.  That’s the good thing about Twitter though, you are sending it to strangers and if they don’t like it, what does it matter?

No friends have ever read this blog.  I’ve never given them the address.  Maybe that’s the next step.

Well this has been a bit of a disjointed post.  I knew what I wanted to say at the start and it kind of run away with me.  But there you go, that is me.  I ramble, a lot.

First, a Little Rant

I do have a blog post I want to put on here tonight but first, a little rant.

Sometimes I feel that being on Twitter is setting yourself up to be discriminated against.  We, as a Twitter collective are all lumped together, by people who have never been on Twitter and therefore don't know what it's about, as being people who do nothing but tweet what they had for breakfast, who follow millions of celebrities and are generally brainless.

I have had this argument with various people, all of which have never been on Twitter.

I have come up with this "conversation" as an alternative example which either proves my point, baffles or alternatively I am told I am a little bit mad.  The last one is probable.

Person One: I don't like apples.
Person Two: Have you ever had one?
Person One: No, they taste of sardines.
Person Two: What are you talking about?  They are juicy and delicious!
Person One: Well that's not what everyone else says so I am not trying one.

Twitter by the way, does not taste like sardines.

Twitter: Are we vain obsessed people?

There has been an article in the Daily Mail recently saying that Twitter is “creating a vain generation of self-obsessed people with child-like need for feedback”.

I both agree and disagree with that.  There are so many different types of people on Twitter.  Businesses looking for followers which could lead to profit, people sending thousands of link tweets trying to do the same, there are also the type that is mentioned in the article, looking for followers, the “automatic follow back” people.

Then, there are us.  The regular people who joined, either for fun or like me, people that had an interest and wanted to gain more information and meet like minded people.  The people who don’t join for a follow, and are always surprised that what you say has interested someone.

I joined Twitter because I love Formula One.  I figured that by joining I would get more info, unknown facts and gain more of an insight in what I loved.  I never intended to actually tweet.

Gradually I have started to follow people and got followers back, all related to what I am interested in or who have something interesting to say.  I don’t look for followers, I don’t think anything I have to say is that interesting.

I don’t profess to say anything monumental or massively intelligent.  But neither do I tell you what I had for breakfast.  In fact thoughts generally go straight from my head to Twitter unfiltered, which is sometimes probably a bad thing ;)

What I have gained from Twitter is, aside from the info and additions to my interests that I wanted, is interesting conversations with people I have met, I have talked to people I never would have before and contrary to what you hear about Twitter, there are no celebrities on my following list.

Twitter, like anything else is what you make it.  You can follow celebs, tweet inane things about what you had for breakfast and follow 1000 people in the hope of a follow or you can do what the regular person does.  Follow people connected with your chosen interest, get information, ideas and points of view you hadn’t even considered, and talk to like minded people, be it about your chosen interest, or just shooting the breeze.

So to those with the holier than thou attitude who dismiss Twitter and all people who tweet, consider this, maybe you just don’t follow the right people. I’m Vicky_Frank, and if you don’t like what I have to say, one of the best things about Twitter, unfollow!