Coupscrolling on Twitter

On the same day that Twitter suspended Trump for 12 hours, I logged on for the first time in months. Feels kind of ironic.

I’ve had a Twitter account forever, but rarely use it. You wouldn’t know this if you looked at my Tweet count (1,389), but that’s only because I set up automatic blog cross-posting years ago, which means that every few days I have a new Tweet. Today, I found replies, comments, and re-Tweets of posts dating back over a year. Err…sorry, guys! Twitter has never been my thing.

But today it was my thing. As news of the stunning coup-in-progress unfolded, I turned to the social media platform that is hands-down the best for up-to-the-minute news and information…and rediscovered how much I like it there. Unlike Facebook, which I have also largely abandoned except for blog cross-posts, Twitter is far more informative. I won’t say it’s any less emotionally driven, but at least I’m reading opinions from political leaders and intelligent celebrities like Edward Norton and Zach Braff, rather than diatribes from my Cousin Eddie.

(I don’t actually have a Cousin Eddie, though I do have relatives similar to Cousin Eddie.)

I’ve gone through brief Twitter phases before, but they never last. I think I’ll give it another go, at least for awhile. I even downloaded an app for my phone (and paid $5.99 for it in an attempt to motivate me). We’ll see how long this lasts.

Today sucked; the constant coupscrolling on Twitter killed my productivity at work, but I was obsessed with refreshing my screen every few minutes to check in on the state of democracy. But, it was also full of promise and hope. Such a weird dichotomy. I am thrilled that Warnock and Ossoff won Georgia, handing the Democrats control of the Senate as well as the House, but holy shit, storming the Capitol is absolutely the last straw. Donald J. Trump incited a coup; there is no other way to describe his actions. He’s long been a menace to democracy, but now he’s got blood on his hands and has to go. Impeach his ass, invoke the 25th Amendment, I don’t care; he is imperiling this country by inciting his misguided MAGA followers and turning it into a banana republic. When will the madness stop? How many more lives will be lost? There were fucking nooses outside the White House. If that doesn’t piss you off, something is wrong.

If this shit doesn’t piss you off, you’re dead to me.

I know he’s only got two weeks left in office. Doesn’t matter. If he’s impeached, he can’t ever run for office again, and my god…the thought of that imbecile launching a 2024 bid makes me sick to my stomach.

I am ashamed for ever watching The Apprentice back in the day.

I have a couple of friends on Facebook who posted this afternoon asking their Trump-supporting friends or family to please unfriend them. I totally understand their motivation, but I won’t do that. I would love to hear how anybody in their right mind can still stand by and defend this moron. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer, right? Naturally, not a single friend who supports Trump had the balls to post an update today. Shame on them if they had, I suppose. This is the end of the Republican party as we knew it, so I don’t really blame them.

Anyway. I’m an optimist at heart, as evidenced by a text exchange with my wife this afternoon. After the initial shock of the storming-the-capitol wore off, I told her,

This moment will pass, and when the dust settles, we will have the House, Senate, and a caring President who will get shit done! Great times are ahead.

I believe that, and I hope you do, too.

33 thoughts on “Coupscrolling on Twitter”

  2. In the (10ish??) Years I’ve been reading your blog, I don’t recall a political post. As an outsider, it interests me in the passiveness of Americans. You’ve (as a people-not personally) have allowed things to come to this point. I use this as a wake up call to my fellow Canadians- the most passive people on the planet- we are two fingers away of this happening in Alberta. I think it’s important to speak out, fight for the underdog and use our privilege for good- not personal gain. I’m so sorry this is happening. I don’t for a minute think it’s over and I believe my province is headed in that direction. Maybe it’s a sign that social accounts should be attended to or deleted. I’m going to do that tonight and begin living with intention. Peace to you Mark, stay safe and hang on tight.

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. You’re not entirely wrong. I try to keep the blog lighthearted and fun, but there have been occasional forays into politics, like this one the day after the 2016 election: https://markpetruska.com/2016/11/09/nnwm9-stay-in-new-zealand/

      And obviously, I set off some nutjob over the weekend with the whole reposting nonsense.

      This may not be my “typical” post, but I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t write this today, while the anger and fear are still raw.

      Peace to you as well. I truly hope you don’t have to endure this BS in your province any time soon…or ever, for that matter.

      Liked by 3 people

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  3. I was glee scrolling after last night and then coup scrolling today. I prefer yesterday. I have friends on Capitol Hill. My father used to be a staffer there. It was horrifying and maddening.

    100% with you on Twitter. Nowhere else do you get real time news and video that quickly.

    Liked by 1 person

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  4. I have been sending infinite hugs and good karma to my U.S. friends today and often, Mark. I am a rare Twitter person, and I don’t really know how to navigate properly. I agree with you on the more up to date info. I even use it around here to find out latest traffic issues, since we have a mountain main road called The Malahat which often can come to a complete halt.

    Ha, ha on the Cousin Eddy. I have a few myself. I have a few author friends who are frequently on Twitter to share their books and stories.

    I have been watching this train wreck today very saddened and concerned. Thank you for sharing the positive, hopeful text exchange. There are many good people in this world and I am also hopeful.

    Liked by 1 person

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      1. I don’t get notified if someone has shared one of my posts, so I neglect to thank them. I will come across it by accident. I do see if they retweet something. I did a mini research awhile back and gave up. Took too much time. Ha, ha, operator error……

        Like

  5. “asking their Trump-supporting friends or family to please unfriend them” – but they can do that themselves? Why would you ask the offenders to do it for you?

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  8. The last straw… the very last straw of 4 years of an immoral, unqualified, racist narcissist in the White House. There is no going back from this. A confederate flag flew in the white house, KKK tattoos were exposed for the world to see, and trump incited fools to riot. Still making excuses? Meanwhile, the pandemic…

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  9. I detest Twitter because I truly don’t care about the opinions of politicians or celebrities. But when my son texted me a photo of a tweet about Pence unfollowing Trump on Twitter, I admit I did open the crypt and take a peek into that hellhole and found it to be fake news! Lol!

    I don’t post or blog about politics because honestly, I find both sides to be extreme. I have friends on either side of the fence and seeing that dumb thing on Facebook yesterday just proves the point that nobody wants to listen or understand each other and there’s never going to be peace without a middle ground. Even congress admitted yesterday that they won’t eat lunch with the other side. Our ‘representatives’ are the equivalent of elementary school bullies.

    Biden has the opportunity to bring both sides together. He’s too old for a second term, so he doesn’t need to worry about reelection and pissing off the extreme left. It’s in his ball court now.

    Liked by 1 person

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  10. I’m with you. I don’t want to unfriend these Trumpsters, I want to interview them about how they can support a moron like tRump. In the process of talking with/listening to them I might end up grinding my teeth to nubs BUT I’d love to get a clue into how they *think*

    Happy New Year, btw. I’m back, ready to… whatever it is I do on my blog.

    Liked by 1 person

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  11. When I got sick in March I got back on Twitter for the first time in years. It’s comforting. Like maybe my focus just needs to shift every few seconds to read the thoughts of thousands. I don’t know.
    And I haven’t left again yet, though I describe myself as a Twitter Binger.
    I am not dead to you. I am all kinds of negative emotions and bad words about the sedition and insurgence.

    Liked by 1 person

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  12. I’ve watched hours of news coverage over the last two days, but somehow missed the nooses. Creepy and shocking. When Biden was declared the winner, people around me started to relax, but I kept saying I wouldn’t feel comfortable until Biden was sworn in. I knew some shit was going to go down. I mean, after a planned kidnapping of a state governor, how could it not?

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