President Donald Trump

[umjewman]

Do you frequent Parler? Do you use Chrome?

Has anybody else got firsthand experience with it?

I’ve followed ParlerTakes on Twitter. He “follows Parler so you don’t have to.” If what he posts is a representative sample, yikes.

[madducks]

Trump tries unsuccessfully to circumvent his Twitter ban:

First, the president fled to the @POTUS account where he was cut off by Twitter, mid-statement, offering complaints about “free speech” and showmanship promise of a “big announcement soon.” Then he tried the Trump campaign’s official account, where he was also caught, leading Twitter to ban that account as well. Then the Trump campaign’s digital director apparently tried to give Trump his account — and got banned, according to CNN’s Jeremy Diamond.

The end came for Trump after he was given a final warning on Friday morning for tweeting that the “great American Patriots who voted for me” will not be “disrespected or treated unfairly in any way, shape or form!!!” Following Wednesday’s pro-Trump attack on the Capitol, the president sent a tweet repeating his false allegation of election fraud and another that seemed to justify the insurrection. Twitter deleted the tweets, locked him out of his account for 12 hours, and warned him a ban was next if he kept breaking the rules.

[Bene Futuis]

All those who aided, encouraged, or actively participated in this insurrection should be federally charged with seditious conspiracy, including the Republicans bleating out their calls for violence. I'd normally say that those at the scene should also be charged with felony murder, since it looks now like two homicides happened, but sedition isn't part of the federal felony murder statute. There are other felonies that can form the basis for felony murder that come pretty close, though, like burglary. The party of personal responsibility needs to eat shit sandwiches for complicity in this one for a loooooooong time.

[Bene Futuis]

I’ve followed ParlerTakes on Twitter. He “follows Parler so you don’t have to.” If what he posts is a representative sample, yikes.

"Kill the libtards!" "BLM are terrorists!" "If they won't give it to us peacefully, we'll take it by force." Sound about right? Followed, of course, with amazingly introspective statements about how BLM and Antifa are actually the violent bad actors.

[revo]

The Houston Chronicle has called for Ted Cruz's resignation.

Is this when he makes his big play to be the next President?

[umjewman]

"Kill the libtards!" "BLM are terrorists!" "If they won't give it to us peacefully, we'll take it by force." Sound about right? Followed, of course, with amazingly introspective statements about how BLM and Antifa are actually the violent bad actors.

You have NO idea how deep the DEEP STATE goes! Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

[Sour Masher]

The Houston Chronicle has called for Ted Cruz's resignation.

Is this when he makes his big play to be the next President?

While Trump led the failed coup attempt, others like Cruz certainly aided him and helped encourage the insurrection. The idea that there will be no political consequences for that is depressing, but what I expect.

I feared something like this would happen for a long time. I knew Trump would get people killed in his delusional attempt to retain power. Five people lost their lives for his delusions that he could end our democracy. Instead, he only marred it.

[DMT]

While Trump led the failed coup attempt, others like Cruz certainly aided him and helped encourage the insurrection. The idea that there will be no political consequences for that is depressing, but what I expect.

I feared something like this would happen for a long time. I knew Trump would get people killed in his delusional attempt to retain power. Thus far, five people lost their lives for his delusions that he could end our democracy. Instead, he only marred it.

Fixed

[chancellor]

Do you frequent Parler? Do you use Chrome?

Has anybody else got firsthand experience with it?

No, nor am I on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat or just about any other social media. I found them all to be a disease with no cure, so I totally deplatformed three or four years ago.

I do use Chrome as my primary browser.

[Kevin Seitzer]

No, nor am I on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat or just about any other social media. I found them all to be a disease with no cure, so I totally deplatformed three or four years ago.

I do use Chrome as my primary browser.

This is a total digression from the thread topic, but I'm curious about your experience with this. I've seriously considered it with Facebook. I know it's not helpful for my mental state. But it's also the way I keep in touch with most of my extended family and my high school and college classmates, as well as various people I've met along the way professionally but no longer interface with (e.g., many of the engineers I used to work with at various jobs), former neighbors, etc. Did you find that your quality of life improved when you dropped off social media? Did you find that it hurt your connections with that extended network of people where more real-world connections are very tenuous or non-existent? Or that even if it did, it was worth it?

Twitter is an important input for my work, and I carefully curate who I follow to a very small list, so I don't find it as toxic/emotionally draining as Facebook. But Facebook I've debated about just dropping completely. It's so dang addictive, too.

[Judge Jude]

I never joined Facebook, for a variety of reasons.

I have a large family, and there is significant downside to not being on it.

that said, this site alone tells me me all I need to know about how it rots people's brains. it's a tradeoff I will continue to accept.

you are correct about Twitter - as I have explained, to anyone who says "Twitter sucks," just look in the mirror.

your Twitter feed is created solely by you. I only follow about 200 people - it was around 250, but the number of professional people who insist on boring their followers to tears with banal, unoriginal political "takes" on their feed is rather amazing.

imo, Facebook is your toilet - eliminate your waste there. Twitter is your sink.

[Bene Futuis]

So, conspired with a foreign government to investigate his political opponents, conspired (along with worst ever AG Barr) with a foreign government to investigate the investigators, multitudes of felony campaign fund violations, illegally personal profiting, along with his scumbag spawn, from executive action, repeated obstruction of justice, witness intimidation, and now pushing seditious conspiracy in an attempt to overthrow the will of the people. Impeach, remove, imprison. That's how we begin to heal from this embarrassing four years of villainy and corruption.

[chancellor]

This is a total digression from the thread topic, but I'm curious about your experience with this. I've seriously considered it with Facebook. I know it's not helpful for my mental state. But it's also the way I keep in touch with most of my extended family and my high school and college classmates, as well as various people I've met along the way professionally but no longer interface with (e.g., many of the engineers I used to work with at various jobs), former neighbors, etc. Did you find that your quality of life improved when you dropped off social media? Did you find that it hurt your connections with that extended network of people where more real-world connections are very tenuous or non-existent? Or that even if it did, it was worth it?

I went on Facebook for a lot of the reasons you're on - catch up better with a few high school and college buddies that I'd somewhat stayed in touch with, former co-workers, and so on. The combination of toxic sludge that I didn't expect along with Facebook's changing privacy rules convinced me to get off. Twitter, for me, was even worse, though I'll readily admit I did not manage it as carefully as you did. Instagram and Snapchat just didn't add any value to my life, though I had no trouble with either. I even dove off of LinkedIn when I started to get inquiries - lots of them - that I had no interest in dealing with every day.

It's absolutely helped my life - I've used the time gained to work out 1-2 more times per week, get outside more, and the stress of the stupid stuff I'd see just doesn't exist anymore. I make a more conscious effort to reach out and FaceTime, voice call, or something similar to the couple handfuls of people that I was connected with via social media that really ended up mattering. I have no real interest in moving on from my work position - I like what I do, it's with a good company, and I have a very good relationship with my direct and next-in line supervisors. So I don't miss the work part, either. I guess if I were looking to move on or make a career change, I'd have a bit more of a presence.

Any temptation I had to go back was pretty much vaporized by articles in Psychology Today. There's been repeatable studies showing low social media presence related to better mental health. And the privacy concerns are not improving.

I'm very glad I made the moves I did and have no plans to go back. The net-net benefits have been overwhelmingly positive.

[TranaGreg]

FWIW I cancelled my FB account maybe 3 years ago. Same as you, used it primarily to keep in touch with extended family but decided that wading thru all the crap just wasn't worth it. Maybe I'm now not as up to speed on what my cousins kids are doing but I'm okay with that.

I'm still on twitter and Instagram but am very selective who I follow. I would have deleted Instagram years ago if it weren't the primary platform my stepson uses.

[Judge Jude]

one unexpected touch I found with not ever joining Facebook:

all of my old neighborhood, grammar school and high school friends are alive and doing well, same for my ex-work colleagues. I have heard nothing to indicate otherwise, after all.

they are my Schrodinger's cats, if you will. joining Facebook is opening the box.

do that, and you find lots of your cats really are alive and doing well - and some of them are dead, and some others seem to wish they were.

I kind of like my box of cats just the way it is.

in my mind, I could look any of them up and grab a beer sometime (in 2022).