#wheresthetylenol

Here’s my unpopular opinion of the day: You shouldn’t be using your faves as news sources. Even more unpopular? Your faves are not obligated to comment on political upheavals, social issues, or anything they don’t want to comment on. There are so many reasons why someone may be radio silent on Twitter or any other platform. It’s not your place to harass them into a reaction. If they stay silent, it’s “Use your platform!” “Why aren’t you saying anything?” “Spread awareness!” Colby tweeted that the situation was sad and he was worried. Well, that tweet wasn’t enough.

Apparently it was the bare minimum and some fans wanted him to do more. OK. Why? He’s a 24 year old guy, 2600 miles away from what was going on at the Capitol Building. I really don’t understand what they wanted him to do. Retweet resources? What resources? For what? If you want to know what’s going on, tune into a reliable news source. There’s an endless stream of TV channels, newspapers, Twitter accounts of actual politicians involved. There are plenty out there. He’s not a reporter. He’s not a political commentator. There’s jack shit that an influencer in Los Angeles is going to be able to do aside from saying, “Wow this is sad. It sucks.” He’s literally just throwing his two cents into the void like everyone else. But I also realize the majority of his fans are teenagers or barely in their early 20s who want to feel like they’re in the thick of what’s going on. As harsh as it may be to say, and as uncomfortable as it may be to hear, no, Brianna/13/Nowheresville Montana/ - no, your Tweet does not make you a key player in the events of the day. 

I can’t fault him for posting about that random old lady first either. He was out on a walk and had no idea what was going on. Paused to Tweet about a weird experience he just had and that was that, and fans just jumped on him all “read the room.”  Hell, I had no idea what was going on until yesterday afternoon, because, SHOCKGASP, I had shit to do and wasn’t glued to my phone/social media all day. My first reaction when I heard about what was going on was to turn on CNN and then see what the Washington Post and NY Times were reporting. My second reaction was to get a hold of my family (attorneys and political-adjacent folks) who live in the DC area to make sure they were safe.  Oddly enough it wasn’t Gosh, I wonder what Colby Brock has to say about the situation and if he’s doing enough to spread awareness through his sizeable platform. 

There’s so much misinformation and fear mongering on Twitter as well, which is why social media personalities shouldn’t be used as sources and shouldn’t be harangued into retweeting unsubstantiated nonsense. It’s the worst incarnation of the telephone game, because then you get crap like the photo above. That tweet makes it seem like the entire state of California was under siege last night when that very much was not the case. There were small “riots” in very specific areas. DTLA is not the the entirety of Los Angeles and LA is not the whole of California. Colby doesn’t live even remotely close to the chaos, and neither do I. I went out and had a nice walk with my dog. Aside from the usual harassment from some of the crazier homeless folks, it was status quo. My neighborhood was fine. There was no imminent danger. You need to go out? Look out the door! Tune into a reliable news source. What I’m saying is don’t always take Twitter at face value. It’s not gospel.