It's Possible To Have Thoughts.. And Keep Them Off Social Media

If you aren’t angry then you aren’t paying attention – that’s what people like me say all the time, isn’t it?

When we say this, we are implying that if you aren’t on Twitter every minute of the day, furiously paraphrasing what someone else said about the trending topic, then you must be pig ignorant – or dangerous.

After a fortnight of arguments online about a variety of extremely sensitive topics, it strikes me that airing an ill-considered or angry public opinion, due to perceived pressure created by social media, may always be that helpful – for you or the issues concerned.

This notion, that because you have not outlined your personal position with respect to current events in a Facebook status or a Twitter thread then you can be safely assumed to be uncaring or ignorant, is a bit daft.

Every day, there are millions of crises occurring all over the globe that even the most informed and morally upright people are unaware of.

Insisting that if someone is not as angry as you, about the same thing you are angry about, then they aren’t paying attention is to cast yourself as some kind of morally omnipotent being.