Who could possibly pick a fight with the legit nicest person on a platform full of nice people? I'm proud of you for taking the high road and having this perspective. Love you, Snow Angel!! ❤️🥰
I have yet to block anyone here. So far, I have been able to diffuse or avoid the more crazed conversations. But I imagine it will probably happen eventually…
I recall having somewhat intense discussions with you. I recall being fairly skeeved out by some of your opinions, and finding your style of discussion to be rather repellent. But I do not recall threatening to block you. I might have, but I doubt it.
Of course, any further discussion would not really be in keeping with the mellow vibe Jacqueline is going for with this post. So if you want to yell at me for something, please feel free to do it somewhere on my Stack.
I had a similar experience a year ago. I was posting about effects on attracting talented high school students to go into secondary education from the Florida legislation banning the AP African American exam and prep course. This person came out of the woodwork and machine gunned me with epithets about woke this and woke that. It really made me angry. It was violence, and I have some college students right now reading my stuff wondering about the wisdom of getting a credential—as if we couldn’t use some great young history teachers. I didn’t have a clue about how to block. It felt funny blocking the guy forever. So I blocked him for 24 hours, nervous the whole next week that he’d be back. It was the obvious lack of respect for the readers, the jabs and punches, the exclamation points. The person might have engaged my readers with a different presentation.
I think the difference here is the audience. I had live young people engaged in this issue. I did a podcast with a university sophomore student planning to major in history and absolutely stunned to realize how deeply the state can reach into the history curriculum. He was leaning toward not getting a credential; he could not work under the conditions in Florida. Then for someone to dive-bomb in with a lust for argument would have been doubly unfortunate if it were done satirically or ironically. I think the lesson here is that we have some delicate communities on Substack and haven't quite figured out how to use humor in a softer way?
Delicate, sure. Also some where the ideological gap is just too large. I suspect that that may be the case with you and I, for example, based on things you have said. But I still want to be friendly and polite.
I don't care if someone has a different viewpoint, I have friends here who are literally Communist intellectuals, and I appreciate their intelligence. What I have zero tolerance for is shitlibs and Zionists coming into threads I have started and trolling and gaslighting with regime MSM talking points. That's an insta-block for me. I blocked Katz and all his sycophants for example as soon as they showed up, and it instantly made notes better, at least from my perspective.
That's totally fair and an understandable and respectable boundary to set, Mr. Raven.
My point here was that I personally have never had to block anyone before. And, in general, I prefer to build bridges with humans- not burn them, so it was new ground for me. In my past, I would engage to seek harmony and inspire some healing for someone like her, but now I'm learning how to set boundaries out of respect for myself and my time. She was not worth the effort, and I celebrate that I recognized this.
And also, this mass projection of people blaming others instead of fixing themselves is getting way out of hand!!
I never said anyone should be censored. Let them blab away here, unmolested. From that it doesn't follow I have to listen to authoritarian war mongering and other bullshit from the woke and from Zionists. I am not a cultural relativist, I do think there is such a thing as moral error, and I call it out when I see it.
At a certain point, you believing you are right and they are wrong, combined with your need to make others think the way you do is a reflection of the woke people.
You ultimately become the exact thing you’re against.
How does warring with your fellow humans and increasing polarization help anything?
We are being socially engineered to ‘divide’ ourselves so we can continue to be conquered and ruled from above.
Cultural relativism is an ur postmodern viewpoint, I thought you were opposed to that? Again I actually have zero problems with intelligent leftists like Communists with a material class analysis, many of those people are my friends here. What I loath is people coming onto my Substack and blowing corporate media talking point woke smoke up people's asses and gaslighting anyone who pushes back on it.
Tag me in anytime seems appropriate where it gets obsequious or overtly ridiculous trolling. Happy to help! JR shouldn't have to deal with that. Why wouldn't people want to know how shady vitamin companies are. Especially people who have deficiencies. It's like you're going to die on that hill for vitamins? Lol
Exactly. These days, so many things are vying for our attention and serving as distractions from what we want to create. I can't afford any leakage in my limited amount of time or energy. I actually like considering her to be a bot- it's less creepy than believing a human could operate so viciously.
Jacqueline, beautiful unpacking behind the block. And fascinating about your readings! My big lesson from your post is take a little more time unpacking ideas. I tend to communicate in subtitle-like thoughts. I block people regularly via phone, email, and social media. I even will go through a dreaded person's "following" and block many of them after doing a general browse. If I detect BS they are gone. It seems like a lot of work, but makes me happy with all my feeds, I only see people and posts that bring me value. Consequently, the exchange of thoughtful ideas and intents gives me energy. I have worked hard to have open days and nights with nothing to do but create. I don't see how people can be deeply themselves, when they get spam calls, engage on one-upmanship with cons (lol, that is a losing battle), and take time and care to address people who don't. Interestingly, Demi had a short exchange with someone being snarky with her, she wasn't having any of it. I did a thorough look at his page, and he was following several people that included their spy connections in their public profiles, WTF. And a few names I recognized ... it was a relief to block him and several on his list. Many of us are willingly or unwillingly engaged in 5GWarfare, not all jerks are nefarious, but I do my best to take out the trash regularly.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, Michael! :)
Your tactic to block out the noise so you can focus on creating makes so much sense. And I commend you for knowing yourself enough to know exactly what you need to best support your life of art-making.
This was a topic worth me writing about because it is entirely new for me. And I do generally prefer to keep channels open based on my belief that we can find common ground, instead of polarizing ourselves into closed-door echo chambers.
Also, I'm currently a student in the class of "Learning to draw boundaries". I've always tended towards the empathy/compasssion/draining my energy and focus side of things. Trying to help or 'fix' others while sacrificing my alignment. This woman was a test. I'm happy that I passed. :)
You are welcome and thank you for your beauty. I very much appreciate your belief of keeping channels open and not polarizing. I had a friend, a philosopher, that believed in engaging everyone and using reason to navigate common ground, he was brilliant at it. And I took that lesson to heart. It turns out the prick is a CIA operative, all his talk of transparency and ethics was BS. Massive let down. On the positive side of drawing boundaries between good and good, is the difference between teaching art and making it. I love teaching but found that it drained my studio creativity. Who would've thought?! And my studio creativity was too decisive and assertive for the wide empathy needed for teaching. Become more empathic and less creative, or be forceful creator and be too rough on students. I haven't found a perfect solution for that.
I thought you would appreciate it Jacqueline. The conflicts between good and good can be really interesting, and when it comes down to it, evil is boring.
I THINK she was triggered by it being about vitamin B12, the favoured vegan supplement.
Which is why she went into a rant about food, farming, meat-related issues. So not only was she attack-y, but she was also way off topic and missing the point.
About 3 years into my adoption of the vegan diet, I learned how cult-like people could be about it. It quickly becomes an identity and something to be very defensive about while also something you needed to force upon others. I was not like that, but many many are. ;)
Vegans in my experience are often as fundamentalist as any religionist. Many were also not very healthy - "why would I want to be a vegan if you are an example?"
Well said sister! I love what you wrote, it resonates a lot of meaning with me. I'm sorry you had to deal with that, but in the same, you couldn't have done it better. Taught me a thing or two, just reading what you went through and how you handled it. Staying true to your beautiful self. Thank you for taking the time to share that and giving a positive vibe to resonate with. You gave a perspective, I didn't think of about the empty boat triggering anger and it being inside us. Truly made my day reading this. Much love
Tammy, my beautiful sister!! Thank you for reading and for writing me this thoughtful comment. I’m so honoured something I shared resonates with you...sending you so much love. ❤️❤️❤️
Ahh, your first block. I remember mine. It was a sweet mellow spring day. Outside, the hummingbirds chittering at each other fighting over a little nectar, a fresh, mildly warm breeze brought in a bouquet of budding pine, alder and fir while cirrus clouds with wispy fingers tickled deep azure blues. I lowered my lilting gaze upon a screed from Ursilla, toad-wife of Bruno, the ineffable, grunting scallywag from some long-forgotten Siberian circus troupe. Her acidic prose burned my cornea most painfully. But the soft curves of the BLOCK button beckoned me with a sensual, siren-like plea - a soothing, momentary one-click respite-like salve cures all internet ills.
Thank you for sharing! Been there, and it’s always an eye-opener. I love your strategy. Say thank you. Step away. If there’s more accusations. Disengage, block, move on. Bless you. I think I hear a song coming 🫵🏻💪🏻🙏❤️
I haven’t blocked anyone here yet either, but I have seen comments on other stacker’s posts….and wanted to block some creeps on their behalf 😂😂
People are looking for reasons to express their repressed anger in ways that feel more justifiable to them….instead of tackling the root issue of their own self dissatisfaction.
I’m sorry you went through this, but I’m glad you didn’t let it bother you too much….and that you got a chance to share it here 💫💫
"People are looking for reasons to express their repressed anger in ways that feel more justifiable to them….instead of tackling the root issue of their own self dissatisfaction."
Exactly! It’s the real epidemic, in my mind.
But we’re on it- if enough of us break the cycle, and we can hold space for others to heal, the result could be magical! ✨❤️
Wow. Poignant. Super well done. And way to respond. I used to post things on facebook long ago that I cared about etc, some of them controversial, amazing what can be controversial these days, and wow I was stunned by the responses. It was stressful and much as you described, unhinged, disconnected from reality and without any real desire to truly communicate and understand each other. I quit that shit, for the most part, I just couldn't be in that Jerry Springer reality. "Keyboard Warriors" are an interesting breed. Everyone wants to talk online, or argue, but at the grocery store, where I love to talk, hardly anyone will!! I think all these interactions would be very different face to face and I've mentioned that to many people who seemed to hate me for not hateful things. It was wild. Unfortunately I think this was the intention, one of them certainly, to divide. I love how you responded. It's sad that so many are locked away in their heads in this crazy condition of vitriol and anger. And ya, it's sad most don't want to identify the true wounds and work to heal them. We'll see where this all goes. Congrats on the all that voice work for the books. That's amazing! Thanks for a great post...
“I quit that shit, for the most part, I just couldn't be in that Jerry Springer reality”
🤣🤣🤣
Thank you so much for enjoying this piece and writing such a great comment. We are def cut from the same cloth!
Audiobook narration is my bread and butter. It’s fun to voices and accents for characters when called for. And I also get to narrate a lot of interesting non-fiction too.
Thanks! I've got a gig tonight that I'm excited about so my weekend is definitely off to a great start. I wish for you to enjoy a great weekend, too. :)
It’s a fair boundary to set, sister. Sorry to hear it has to happen so often.
It becomes really easy to see who is an agitator and looking to fight or be right in contrast to what is mostly a very peaceful community.
I’m happy to say this chick was an anomaly and it was easy to say “see ya!”. Who has time for arguing needlessly?!
Totally fair! It’s like choosing to eat clean food and commune with nourishing people.
Happily, I haven’t run into much “junk food” here on Substack. Overall it’s a very healthy community. Thank you for your comment! 🙏
Who could possibly pick a fight with the legit nicest person on a platform full of nice people? I'm proud of you for taking the high road and having this perspective. Love you, Snow Angel!! ❤️🥰
Awwww!!! That’s such an amazing compliment!! (No my eyes are not leaking!! ;)
Thank you, my beautiful sister. You had a front row seat for this one! 🤣
Sending you my love!! ❤️❤️❤️
I keep springing leaks lately too. The hell is with that?! Dang leaky face. What the shit. 🤣🤣🤣🥰
hahahahahaha!!!! XOX
Wise words, JR.
I have yet to block anyone here. So far, I have been able to diffuse or avoid the more crazed conversations. But I imagine it will probably happen eventually…
Thanks my friend!
It just might. And it would be their loss. 😉
I am pretty sure you threatened to block me, lol!
I recall having somewhat intense discussions with you. I recall being fairly skeeved out by some of your opinions, and finding your style of discussion to be rather repellent. But I do not recall threatening to block you. I might have, but I doubt it.
Of course, any further discussion would not really be in keeping with the mellow vibe Jacqueline is going for with this post. So if you want to yell at me for something, please feel free to do it somewhere on my Stack.
hahaha! That's gracious of you to host and re-route.
"Hey everybody! Yelling after-party at Chris's stack!!"
I’ll bring the wing dip; you bring the poutine.
I always have to look something up when you say more than 10 things. *looks up poutine.....not gonna say what it sounds like.
I had a similar experience a year ago. I was posting about effects on attracting talented high school students to go into secondary education from the Florida legislation banning the AP African American exam and prep course. This person came out of the woodwork and machine gunned me with epithets about woke this and woke that. It really made me angry. It was violence, and I have some college students right now reading my stuff wondering about the wisdom of getting a credential—as if we couldn’t use some great young history teachers. I didn’t have a clue about how to block. It felt funny blocking the guy forever. So I blocked him for 24 hours, nervous the whole next week that he’d be back. It was the obvious lack of respect for the readers, the jabs and punches, the exclamation points. The person might have engaged my readers with a different presentation.
I have been trying to learn to approach disagreements more irenically. I does not always work, but it often does.
I think the difference here is the audience. I had live young people engaged in this issue. I did a podcast with a university sophomore student planning to major in history and absolutely stunned to realize how deeply the state can reach into the history curriculum. He was leaning toward not getting a credential; he could not work under the conditions in Florida. Then for someone to dive-bomb in with a lust for argument would have been doubly unfortunate if it were done satirically or ironically. I think the lesson here is that we have some delicate communities on Substack and haven't quite figured out how to use humor in a softer way?
Delicate, sure. Also some where the ideological gap is just too large. I suspect that that may be the case with you and I, for example, based on things you have said. But I still want to be friendly and polite.
LOL
You need to toughen up, I blocked like 5 people yesterday as shitlib trolls were melting down over Putin owning U.S. imperium.
Hahahaha!!
I’m not upset.
I’m just not into blocking people because they have a different view. That’s too woke for me. I’d prefer to keep channels of communication open.
I don't care if someone has a different viewpoint, I have friends here who are literally Communist intellectuals, and I appreciate their intelligence. What I have zero tolerance for is shitlibs and Zionists coming into threads I have started and trolling and gaslighting with regime MSM talking points. That's an insta-block for me. I blocked Katz and all his sycophants for example as soon as they showed up, and it instantly made notes better, at least from my perspective.
That's totally fair and an understandable and respectable boundary to set, Mr. Raven.
My point here was that I personally have never had to block anyone before. And, in general, I prefer to build bridges with humans- not burn them, so it was new ground for me. In my past, I would engage to seek harmony and inspire some healing for someone like her, but now I'm learning how to set boundaries out of respect for myself and my time. She was not worth the effort, and I celebrate that I recognized this.
And also, this mass projection of people blaming others instead of fixing themselves is getting way out of hand!!
Mr Raven has blocked me and I haven't a clue why.....
Perhaps consider it a blessing, Frances!! ;)
XO
You probably said something stupid, lulz.
How is fixing myself going to fix woke zombies from spreading corporate media talking points to credulous idiots?
Aren’t you for free speech?
Why do you take on the role of having to ‘fix’ others?
You can only control yourself. All else is force and an infringement of another’s right to be an idiot.
I never said anyone should be censored. Let them blab away here, unmolested. From that it doesn't follow I have to listen to authoritarian war mongering and other bullshit from the woke and from Zionists. I am not a cultural relativist, I do think there is such a thing as moral error, and I call it out when I see it.
Also, self-awareness is your friend.
At a certain point, you believing you are right and they are wrong, combined with your need to make others think the way you do is a reflection of the woke people.
You ultimately become the exact thing you’re against.
How does warring with your fellow humans and increasing polarization help anything?
We are being socially engineered to ‘divide’ ourselves so we can continue to be conquered and ruled from above.
Stop taking the bait. ❤️
Cultural relativism is an ur postmodern viewpoint, I thought you were opposed to that? Again I actually have zero problems with intelligent leftists like Communists with a material class analysis, many of those people are my friends here. What I loath is people coming onto my Substack and blowing corporate media talking point woke smoke up people's asses and gaslighting anyone who pushes back on it.
Sometimes you set a boundary and the other person makes a choice to trounce that boundary. In that case, you block and protect your peace. 🙏🏻💜💫
lol
What's funny is I jumped in to try and break this up but you had already blocked her lol
hahaha!! Yes, I didn't waste any time, did i?
Damn, though!! I'm so intrigued to know what you would have said- I know it would have been brilliant and snappy.
I'm not as aggressive with women but I still didn't like what I saw
Yes...it was like we were on different planets, or I was being faced with a psychotic episode....made my brain and heart go "HUH?!!"
Thank you for being there, to jump in. That gesture of protection is not lost on me.
Tag me in anytime seems appropriate where it gets obsequious or overtly ridiculous trolling. Happy to help! JR shouldn't have to deal with that. Why wouldn't people want to know how shady vitamin companies are. Especially people who have deficiencies. It's like you're going to die on that hill for vitamins? Lol
Hahahaha! Die on that hill for vitamins. 🤣
😁
That one sounds like a bot to me, but it was a good decision to block either way.
Exactly. These days, so many things are vying for our attention and serving as distractions from what we want to create. I can't afford any leakage in my limited amount of time or energy. I actually like considering her to be a bot- it's less creepy than believing a human could operate so viciously.
Jacqueline, beautiful unpacking behind the block. And fascinating about your readings! My big lesson from your post is take a little more time unpacking ideas. I tend to communicate in subtitle-like thoughts. I block people regularly via phone, email, and social media. I even will go through a dreaded person's "following" and block many of them after doing a general browse. If I detect BS they are gone. It seems like a lot of work, but makes me happy with all my feeds, I only see people and posts that bring me value. Consequently, the exchange of thoughtful ideas and intents gives me energy. I have worked hard to have open days and nights with nothing to do but create. I don't see how people can be deeply themselves, when they get spam calls, engage on one-upmanship with cons (lol, that is a losing battle), and take time and care to address people who don't. Interestingly, Demi had a short exchange with someone being snarky with her, she wasn't having any of it. I did a thorough look at his page, and he was following several people that included their spy connections in their public profiles, WTF. And a few names I recognized ... it was a relief to block him and several on his list. Many of us are willingly or unwillingly engaged in 5GWarfare, not all jerks are nefarious, but I do my best to take out the trash regularly.
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment, Michael! :)
Your tactic to block out the noise so you can focus on creating makes so much sense. And I commend you for knowing yourself enough to know exactly what you need to best support your life of art-making.
This was a topic worth me writing about because it is entirely new for me. And I do generally prefer to keep channels open based on my belief that we can find common ground, instead of polarizing ourselves into closed-door echo chambers.
Also, I'm currently a student in the class of "Learning to draw boundaries". I've always tended towards the empathy/compasssion/draining my energy and focus side of things. Trying to help or 'fix' others while sacrificing my alignment. This woman was a test. I'm happy that I passed. :)
You are welcome and thank you for your beauty. I very much appreciate your belief of keeping channels open and not polarizing. I had a friend, a philosopher, that believed in engaging everyone and using reason to navigate common ground, he was brilliant at it. And I took that lesson to heart. It turns out the prick is a CIA operative, all his talk of transparency and ethics was BS. Massive let down. On the positive side of drawing boundaries between good and good, is the difference between teaching art and making it. I love teaching but found that it drained my studio creativity. Who would've thought?! And my studio creativity was too decisive and assertive for the wide empathy needed for teaching. Become more empathic and less creative, or be forceful creator and be too rough on students. I haven't found a perfect solution for that.
“Become more empathic and less creative, or be forceful creator and be too rough on students. I haven't found a perfect solution for that.”
That’s really interesting, Michael. What a conundrum!!
I thought you would appreciate it Jacqueline. The conflicts between good and good can be really interesting, and when it comes down to it, evil is boring.
Now there’s a lyric:
‘When it comes down to it, evil is boring’! Love it. So true.
I agree.
Thanks!
Over....supplements?
Her reaction makes me want to take them even less.
hahahahahaa!!! Amazing!!
I THINK she was triggered by it being about vitamin B12, the favoured vegan supplement.
Which is why she went into a rant about food, farming, meat-related issues. So not only was she attack-y, but she was also way off topic and missing the point.
About 3 years into my adoption of the vegan diet, I learned how cult-like people could be about it. It quickly becomes an identity and something to be very defensive about while also something you needed to force upon others. I was not like that, but many many are. ;)
Vegans in my experience are often as fundamentalist as any religionist. Many were also not very healthy - "why would I want to be a vegan if you are an example?"
Hahaha! Yes and yes!!
I had a friend who ate Oreo’s and Dorito sweet chili heat because they’re ‘vegan’!
Well said. Life is a gift and positive discourse is a gift. ox
Amen, sister!! XO
Well said sister! I love what you wrote, it resonates a lot of meaning with me. I'm sorry you had to deal with that, but in the same, you couldn't have done it better. Taught me a thing or two, just reading what you went through and how you handled it. Staying true to your beautiful self. Thank you for taking the time to share that and giving a positive vibe to resonate with. You gave a perspective, I didn't think of about the empty boat triggering anger and it being inside us. Truly made my day reading this. Much love
Tammy, my beautiful sister!! Thank you for reading and for writing me this thoughtful comment. I’m so honoured something I shared resonates with you...sending you so much love. ❤️❤️❤️
Ahh, your first block. I remember mine. It was a sweet mellow spring day. Outside, the hummingbirds chittering at each other fighting over a little nectar, a fresh, mildly warm breeze brought in a bouquet of budding pine, alder and fir while cirrus clouds with wispy fingers tickled deep azure blues. I lowered my lilting gaze upon a screed from Ursilla, toad-wife of Bruno, the ineffable, grunting scallywag from some long-forgotten Siberian circus troupe. Her acidic prose burned my cornea most painfully. But the soft curves of the BLOCK button beckoned me with a sensual, siren-like plea - a soothing, momentary one-click respite-like salve cures all internet ills.
Hahahaha!!
Amazing. I love your whimsical comment. ✨
I hope your cornea healed!
And me? Well I’ll be keeping this newfound curvy salve in my back pocket. 😉
WOW :) This comment is a thing of beauty. *deep bow.
It really is!! Imagine what amazing images he could create with his poetic prompts?
agreed
Thank you for sharing! Been there, and it’s always an eye-opener. I love your strategy. Say thank you. Step away. If there’s more accusations. Disengage, block, move on. Bless you. I think I hear a song coming 🫵🏻💪🏻🙏❤️
My pleasure and thank you so much for reading, Jamie! Great point about the song....there is definitely something brewing here!! ✨🎸
I haven’t blocked anyone here yet either, but I have seen comments on other stacker’s posts….and wanted to block some creeps on their behalf 😂😂
People are looking for reasons to express their repressed anger in ways that feel more justifiable to them….instead of tackling the root issue of their own self dissatisfaction.
I’m sorry you went through this, but I’m glad you didn’t let it bother you too much….and that you got a chance to share it here 💫💫
"People are looking for reasons to express their repressed anger in ways that feel more justifiable to them….instead of tackling the root issue of their own self dissatisfaction."
Exactly! It’s the real epidemic, in my mind.
But we’re on it- if enough of us break the cycle, and we can hold space for others to heal, the result could be magical! ✨❤️
Wow. Poignant. Super well done. And way to respond. I used to post things on facebook long ago that I cared about etc, some of them controversial, amazing what can be controversial these days, and wow I was stunned by the responses. It was stressful and much as you described, unhinged, disconnected from reality and without any real desire to truly communicate and understand each other. I quit that shit, for the most part, I just couldn't be in that Jerry Springer reality. "Keyboard Warriors" are an interesting breed. Everyone wants to talk online, or argue, but at the grocery store, where I love to talk, hardly anyone will!! I think all these interactions would be very different face to face and I've mentioned that to many people who seemed to hate me for not hateful things. It was wild. Unfortunately I think this was the intention, one of them certainly, to divide. I love how you responded. It's sad that so many are locked away in their heads in this crazy condition of vitriol and anger. And ya, it's sad most don't want to identify the true wounds and work to heal them. We'll see where this all goes. Congrats on the all that voice work for the books. That's amazing! Thanks for a great post...
“I quit that shit, for the most part, I just couldn't be in that Jerry Springer reality”
🤣🤣🤣
Thank you so much for enjoying this piece and writing such a great comment. We are def cut from the same cloth!
Audiobook narration is my bread and butter. It’s fun to voices and accents for characters when called for. And I also get to narrate a lot of interesting non-fiction too.
wonderful. Keep it up and thanks much for the kind reply. have a great weekend...
Thanks! I've got a gig tonight that I'm excited about so my weekend is definitely off to a great start. I wish for you to enjoy a great weekend, too. :)