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Gun Control and FaceBook

The demographic of my social media family seem to all fall into one of three categories   The first two, the polar opposites of each other, seem to take the extreme view on any debatable issue. These are the "Friends" that are vying for my attention by making outrageous accusations, sensationalizing news, and posting animated images of everything going to hell in a handbasket in our country.  Calls to action on everything are unceasing.

The chasm between these identifiable groups is widening.  Paranoia is intensifying. Groupthink is creeping into these socially isolated cells of like-minded extremists, as they begin to believe their own rhetoric.  The things they say I should be doing seem so urgent and important.  If I'm from St. George I've been sheltered from the real world and should not be so narrow-minded.  If I support the constitution, I should buy automatic weapons.  If I'm not racist, I should accept any behavior.  If I love children, I should destroy all guns. I should tax the rich. I should feed the poor.  Balance the budget. Fight for freedom...  I had no idea all these things were up to me RIGHT NOW.  It's amazing that the sun even comes up in the morning.  Apparently if you read something on Facebook enough, it must be true, and if it's true, I must share it?

The gun control issue seems to be the most divisive issue in social media.  If it were true that the president is trying to take away our rights, or that gun control is not about guns, its about control, I'd actually be freaked out like so many of the other sheep.  Conversely, others imply that if we had no guns there would be no more public killings, and anyone that thinks we need automatic weapons is an uneducated redneck.  My "Friends" are passing around made-up statistics on FaceBook like a game of telephone gossip played by school kids.  The more they get passed around the more outlandish the statistics.

323 murders by guns in 2011.  Ya, maybe in Chicago.

It seems to comes down to two statements.  Either...

Shame on me for not protecting children.

or

Shame on me for not defending the constitution.

The third group in my social mediated world is the one I fall into.  The social voyeur.  The cooler head that observes this chaos but stays away from the trap of picking a side and then being forced by my friends to defend it.

I sit and shake my head at all of people that are trying to become heroic alarmists.  My worry is not that my second amendment rights will be taken away, or worrying about my children's daily safety.  I worry about the divisiveness of our community.  Are we not all in this together? 

The reality is there are crazies out there.  We must do whatever we can to identify and assist these people to receive the counseling and guidance they need to be safe citizens. However, by dividing the country and enhancing conspiracy theories, we may just be creating more paranoia and isolationism among people that may be ready to snap. Those who may go into a school to make a cowardly statement.