These are examples of the SILO phenomenon, right? Rage bait.
I came up with a term a while back, "Excessive Compulsive Disorder," to describe behaviors that differ from those associated with OCD. Where OCD is about ritual, patterns, and sometimes numbers... "ECD" (not in the DSM, of course) is much more about sheer quantity. It is much more similar to addiction, or it is literally addiction.
Social Media Binging. We've all "checked out and cracked out."
That's just some context I had to get out. Because more relevant to the OP is rage-bait and the insular nature of living online. IDK how many people--this year especially--I've spoken to IRL who get endlessly drawn into online activity that goes nowhere at best. But at worst, it leads into deep, spiteful silos of anger. This phenomenon either fabricates an "issue" or takes a genuine issue and spins it into an out-of-control... bull riding a loose cannon around a China shop. Often they take fake rage bait, and create a real backlash.
I just want to say, don't rush to trust your anger 100% of the time. From 2020, our amygdalas (amygdalae?) have been working over-time. We didn't have enough time in the day to question every alert that goes off IRL or in our head. Actions must be taken in an emergency. But living that way brings about CPTSD. It attenuates our nervous systems. We get strung out to dry.
I'm not trying to say, "You fools, you." I'm pointing every finger at myself, honestly. I've abused the internet for decades at this point. Some tell tales 'round these parts that I still do...
WE are being weaponized against one another. We're pushing away allies instead of connecting with each other. We're punching sideways instead of UP. We're in groups of dozens, at best, when we should be in groups of hundreds or thousands. Agreeing with 275K people on a social media post isn't forming an alliance.
This year is our big chance to fight all the shitty things in our world, this prison planet of oppression, abuse, and manipulation.
It will take some particular things we haven't assembled: NUMBERS, SKILLS, MATERIALS/RESOURCES, and PLANS.
The less of any of these we have, the more of the others we'll need. If we don't amass materials, then our plan has to be 1,000% genius. Without high skill levels, we'll expend a lot of resources and people.
But if we connect with each other on both the smaller and larger scale, we can make better use of our resources and save our own lives, get back to the lives we're supposed to be living.
