Do you follow people you dislike/don't agree with?

[Dali]

At some point I decided to follow people that have said some suspect stuff. I quit that practice soon after because I realized I didn't care enough to check their post histories to see the pattern. Ive learned if you're a buster then you're a buster and I'll associate you with being a dumbass without me following you because you'll consistently say either something stupid or something suspect. No need to follow. You'll stand out on your own.

 

[whytemyke]

It scares me that so many people absolutely shut out people they disagree with. Obviously do whatever makes you happy, but filling your day with only people who agree with you seems to be a good way to grow intellectually stunted.

I follow a few conservatives on Twitter. Doesn't mean I condone what they say but I find it's important to understand the thinking of people I disagree with if I ever want to actually communicate with anyone outside of sycophants and insincere shills.

 

[Onebadlion]

I don't block people I disagree with but I will block anyone who is abusive, posts vile stuff like dead bodies, or one the many insufferably smug blogger types, like the aforementioned Bobby Roberts. No matter how valid a point he makes, he can't help coming across as a bit of a tit. I can't be arsed with people like that, even if I agree on the wider point. Snark is a cancer on social media, and it's a pet hate of mine.

 

[Alice]

How else would I be able to keep insulting them?

 

[UltimateHigh]

Why would I follow anyone I disliked?

I've long been well educated on the bullshit the "other side" believes.

It isn't rocket science, the arguments aren't actually evolving (nor does "refuting" them mean fuck all) and my acknowledgement of them will continue to stay at a bare minimum. (which still means I come across enough of it)

 

[FinFunnels]

Only people I know IRL. And even then, I will mute their asses if they post something vile.

 

[Weebos]

I don't follow people I dislike. I do follow people I disagree with. There are people I agree with that I don't follow because they're too vitriolic or unproductive. I get that that can be cathartic for some, but it isn't for me.

The degree to that varies, though you could say I don't "follow" anybody anymore because I quit social media.

 

[Mona]

I'm not a member of any social media platforms really, so I dont follow/unfollow people

But the revival of the conservative show FiringLine just started recently and I have that bookmarked, first 2 guests were John Kasich and Gretchen Carlson

 

[Kill3r7]

I don't really do social media outside of friends and family. That said, I do occasionally read articles or listen to conservative/libertarian podcasts.

 

[BringBackSonics]

I do keep tabs on what the opposition is saying/doing and share information with our group if I find it pertintant. (For example, if locally a group decides to meet to, or a political leader decides to make an appearance). We can rally to counter protest or try and engage the political leader.

 

[LiK]

Hell no, I'll let people RT their dumb shit so I can respond.

 

[Deleted member 28076]

I will consider the viewpoint of anyone who is not a fascist.

That doesn't mean I won't reach the conclusion that they're stupid, but I'll at least hear what they have to say. But if you come at me with some bullshit complaining about "SJWs" I will resort to whatever it takes to keep you out of my life.

I mean, to make it clear on who I consider a fascist - my ignore list on these forums is completely empty.

 

[4859]

No, that's obsessive.

 

[Deleted member 10908]

Yes, that's why I read a lot in the ERA off topic. Its always good to see different points of views and it helps me understand opinions better. People that don't look at the other side live in an echo chamber

 

[LosDaddie]

I have family members I follow on social media who vote GOP.

So yes.

 

[Zen]

I don't use social media much at all so my exposure to dumb stuff and peoples' vanity is very limited. I might log onto facebook twice a year to see if my relatives across the pond are doing well.

 

[The Almighty Tria]

People who don't at least listen to people they disagree with are doing it very, very wrong.

 

[Lord Hypnos]

I don't even follow people I agree with.

 

[Vapelord]

No. Ain't got time for things I don't like.

Click to shrink...

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[Brandson]

I follow some Bush-era Republicans to hear their perspective on what is going on with America, like Bill Kristol. I think it's a good idea to be exposed to other political views that you disagree with, provided they are presented in a genuine, factual manner. I have no interest in hearing what trolls have to say, especially racist or sexist ones.

 

[Deleted member 9486]

Not really. I don't use social media much though. I will read Op Ed pieces by conservatives though as I do like to see the other side and how they think. I don't follow any on Twitter or anything, just don't avoid those columns when reading opinion sections.

 

[Deleted member 176]

Nope. Not real people or celebrities or organizations. My mental health is already shakey enough. I even have the president blocked, I use this instead so I can stay informed:

Click to shrink...

People who don't at least listen to people they disagree with are doing it very, very wrong.

Click to shrink...

This isn't true. Some people just aren't worth listening to.

 

[Reversed]

Some turned into light trumpers (one of them went hardcore and got their account suspended!), but that's why the mute list or softblocking got invented.

 

[Deleted member 14900]

I used to feel like real life was a lot less toxic than online. Whoo boy has it changed. I get enough of it in my day to day life that is incredibly soul crushing to see and hear, so online idiots can have their space to coalesce into a piss snowball. It's not even about exposing myself to differing view points. It's abuse and discrimination and obsessiveness that has given me an absolute disgust for a hearty percentage of the population that participates and enables it. Ya'll can have it.

 

[Strangelove_77]

I just follow funny people on Twitter. No one that's too serious. Same with my Facebook friends.
I also have a few people on ignore here. I'm not the type that enjoys arguing back and forth, which seems like what forums are all about really.
In general I don't read any news unless someone posts it here. Which is somewhat annoying since something horrible seems to be posted very 15 minutes.

I'll say this though - there are some people on here that I dislike so much because of the outlandish things they say that it's impossible to ignore. They're on an entire different plane. I want to read what idiotic thing they say to see if they can top themselves from the last idiotic thing they said.

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

I genuinely would if I didn't feel like the 'fast-casual' format of social media hadn't conditioned us to present ourselves at our most frustrated, most grieved, most lacking in decorum way possible. I'm not above that -- I fall EXACTLY into that realm every time I try to talk about anything that has a great impact in my life. I flower it up, I make it sound like the best or the worst thing in the world, I go hyperbolic. And when I come across something I don't agree with, it's presented that way, too, and I'm right the fuck outta there.

Put short, I view it as absolutely impossible to do that in the way social media has conditioned myself and pretty much anyone to treat it like it's of the utmost impenetrable perspective.

And that is not at all to admit that anyone's problems are petty and unimportant. The issues being presented, especially today, are extremely important and are really having profound effects on people's lives. But it's presented with the expectation that people will either see it that way or they will be torn to shreds for disagreeing.

So yeah, social media is not a space for me to figure things out and engage in dialogue about it. In that space, people don't want to -- and frankly, I don't want to either.

 

[The Albatross]

I don't follow anybody that I dislike because... why torture myself... but I do follow a decent amount of people I disagree with, but don't hate their personalities. Nearly all of the Republicans/conservatives I follow are anti-Trump conservatives. Most of them are associated with either the National Review or the Weekly Standard.

• Jonah Goldberg from the National Review, host of 'The Remnant' podcast, recent author of 'The Suicide of the West' how Nationalism, Populism, and Trumpism is killing western civilization. He's a frequent guest on NPR programs when they need someone who will happily do public radio from the right. He's congenial, hates Trump, is a target of the alt-right.
• Rick Wilson, author of "Everything Trump Touches Dies." He's probably most well known for his frequent appearances on MSNBC and CNN as an anti-Trump GOP strategist. There's lots of memes of him arguing with Trump supporters on the internet and TV, and a common eye-roll gif when he's arguing with Trump apologist Paris Dennard on a CNN panel.
• Evan McMullin, former Republican from Utah who left GOP and ran as an independent in 2016
• Mindy Finn, McMullin's running mate and they run "StandUp Republic," a group supporting rational, non-populist candidates
• Max Boot, former Republican, and Washington Post columnist, author of 'The Corrosion of Conservatism'
• David Frum, neoconservative editor of 'The Atlantic'
• Michael Totten, used to have an award winning Middle East correspondents blog back when blogs were a thing. He's probably a neoconservative, but he's mostly a Middle East analyst. He doesn't publish as much as he used to.
• Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player ever, though he doesn't fit into any typical American political spectrum. I follow him because I think he's brilliant, and he's the most famous Russian human rights advocate, Putin antagonist, and Russian dissident.
• Bill Browder, similarly, I don't really know where Bill Browder's political dot would fall on the compass, but I'd imagine he's a neoconservative anti-Putin. He's the global sponsor of the Magnitsky Act, as Sergei Magnitsky was his lawyer when he was murdered by the Kremlin.
• David Brooks, the classic "conservative columnist from the New York Times," but he's not very conservative by any national standard. He's frequently on NPR on Friday afternoons doing the weekly wrap-up show.
• Charlie Savage, author of 'Power Wars: The Relentless Rise of Presidential Authority and Secrecy.' He writes for the NYT and is on MSNBC, but is probably best known for being a critic of presidential secrecy during the Obama administration. I don't know his political leanings, though he was an against-the-grain critic of Obama and is now a with-the-grain critic of Trump.

Some others like Benjamin Wittes, James Comey, others, I'm not sure where they'd fall exactly on the political spectrum. I also follow some politicians who I don't always agree with, but they're my representatives/officials. Charlie Baker, the governor of Massachusetts for instance. I usually don't follow a lot of elected official's Twitter accounts because they're kind of pointless hot air... I appreciate when Lindsey Graham and John McCain stand up to the president or show some decency, but I don't really feel any need to follow their fluff accounts run by a social media manager.

 

[Brandson]

I don't follow anybody that I dislike because... why torture myself... but I do follow a decent amount of people I disagree with, but don't hate their personalities. Nearly all of the Republicans/conservatives I follow are anti-Trump conservatives. Most of them are associated with either the National Review or the Weekly Standard.

• Jonah Goldberg from the National Review, host of 'The Remnant' podcast, recent author of 'The Suicide of the West' how Nationalism, Populism, and Trumpism is killing western civilization. He's a frequent guest on NPR programs when they need someone who will happily do public radio from the right. He's congenial, hates Trump, is a target of the alt-right.
• Rick Wilson, author of "Everything Trump Touches Dies." He's probably most well known for his frequent appearances on MSNBC and CNN as an anti-Trump GOP strategist. There's lots of memes of him arguing with Trump supporters on the internet and TV, and a common eye-roll gif when he's arguing with Trump apologist Paris Dennard on a CNN panel.
• Evan McMullin, former Republican from Utah who left GOP and ran as an independent in 2016
• Mindy Finn, McMullin's running mate and they run "StandUp Republic," a group supporting rational, non-populist candidates
• Max Boot, former Republican, and Washington Post columnist, author of 'The Corrosion of Conservatism'
• David Frum, neoconservative editor of 'The Atlantic'
• Michael Totten, used to have an award winning Middle East correspondents blog back when blogs were a thing. He's probably a neoconservative, but he's mostly a Middle East analyst. He doesn't publish as much as he used to.
• Garry Kasparov, the greatest chess player ever, though he doesn't fit into any typical American political spectrum. I follow him because I think he's brilliant, and he's the most Russian human rights advocate and Putin antagonist.
• Bill Browder, similarly, I don't really know where Bill Browder's political dot would fall on the compass, but I'd imagine he's a neoconservative anti-Putin. He's the global sponsor of the Magnitsky Act, as Sergei Magnitsky was his lawyer when he was murdered by the Kremlin.
• David Brooks, the classic "conservative columnist from the New York Times," but he's not very conservative by any national standard.

Some others like Benjamin Wittes, James Comey, others, I'm not sure where they'd fall exactly on the political spectrum. I also follow some politicians who I don't always agree with, but they're my representatives/officials. Charlie Baker, the governor of Massachusetts for instance.

Click to shrink...

Great list. I follow a few of these people already too. Thanks for this.

What I personally find incredible is that conservatives I previously couldn't stand (like Kristol and David "Axis of Evil" Frum), are suddenly providing really great commentary on the Trump era that is hard to find fault with. This is a really interesting moment to find out who has real values, and who just wants power (or kickbacks).

 

[leafcutter]

Not on social media, but I do read op-eds and the like. I miss Charles Krauthammer, even though I almost never agreed with him.

 

[DrewFu]

Disagree with? Sure. Dislike, no.

 

[The Albatross]

Not on social media, but I do read op-eds and the like. I miss Charles Krauthammer, even though I almost never agreed with him.

Click to shrink...

Oh, right, Krauthammer was another guy I followed.

 

[Jeronimo]

Don't agree with - maybe, if it's family or friends
Dislike - maybe, if it's family

 

[Stranger Things]

I follow Russ on twitter just to read the hate comments he gets. Pretty funny.