The Inevitable American Tragedy — THE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS REVIEW

[Brian Kegerreis]

The Inevitable American Tragedy — THE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS REVIEW https://share.google/rPg2HPQAksD8kg4c6 

For your consideration 

[kan...@aol.com]

This  one smells better than the other article. 

My answer, starting a couple of years ago, is to tear down social media. If this was a disease, we'd attack it with every means possible. 

It's malignant in the truest sense. It totally blurs any distinction between fact and fiction. In fact it rewards bullshit. The truth is ultimately boring, generating fewer "likes". Fake stuff gets more hits. So  people read a lot about a pedophile ring run by Hillary Clinton out of a pizzeria in NYC. It becomes enough of a "fact" that an armed man goes there to end it. Children get harassed, menaced, and shamed. The consequences have been clearly documented. 

As long as social media operates based on hits and likes, it will continue to be a negative influence, with or without Russia. Add in Russia and other bad actors with their troll bots and other amplification tools and the whole thing looks like a great way to cause serious damage to our society. 

Social media needs huge doses of what G and Dave suggest. G says ignore it altogether. Dave wants NAP and self-regulated better behavior. 

Too bad that neither of those work with humans involved. As DF will attest, money drives behavior more strongly than NAP. And money drives ALL of social media.  

[GMoney]

On Thu, Apr 2, 2026 at 5:03 PM 'kan...@aol.com' via Kansas City Diversity Coalition <kansas-city-div...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

Social media needs huge doses of what G and Dave suggest. G says ignore it altogether. Dave wants NAP and self-regulated better behavior. 

I don't ignore it ALTOGETHER (i dabble modestly on Facebook), but for most people...yes, i would absolutely recommend this. For 2 main reasons:

1) Most people are not strong enough in their self assurance to handle what might happen to them out there and 

2) Most people are not strong enough to stop themselves from being the ones who initiate the attacks i alluded to in #1

There have been millions of long dissertations written about SM and its effects but...you can kinda boil it down to this: It's a playground where Freud's Id (primal desires/pleasure) finally gets to play without interference from the ego (rational/reality) or the superego (morality/conscience).

Musky shoulda renamed Twitter "Id".....that would have at least been amusing/apropos. 

Too bad that neither of those work with humans involved. As DF will attest, money drives behavior more strongly than NAP. And money drives ALL of social media. 

Yes but what drives the money on places like Facebook or Id (i'm calling Twitter "Id" from now on)?  Conflict. Misery. Scandal. 

Nighttime TV has dozens of reality shows where groups of people try to screw each other before the others can screw them. How many reality TV shows required the entire cast to work together to meet a common goal? Yeah, that one gets cancelled midway through season 1....

[kan...@aol.com]

Good call G. The money on SM gets generated by "hits/likes". And these get driven by controversy. So bullying, lies, conspiracy theories and all manners of nefarious mischief dominate the scene. 

I joined a site dedicated to the John Muir Trail. Get to share stories, advice, etc. But as I scroll I get to see lots of stupid shit unrelated to the JMT. Fishing videos are popular; but you never see the fish, just a bent rod and person struggling with a hidden foe. Click bait. Then I get math and English puzzles. Those are fun-ish. And some porn-lite. Meh. Oh, an ads galore. 

Nuke the whole thing. Make people identify themselves when on line. That would end a lot of the trouble. 

[kan...@aol.com]

G, I re-read your last very good post. But FACEBOOK? How old are you anyway? 

[GMoney]

On Sun, Apr 5, 2026 at 8:23 PM 'kan...@aol.com' via Kansas City Diversity Coalition <kansas-city-div...@googlegroups.com> wrote:

G, I re-read your last very good post. But FACEBOOK? How old are you anyway? 

Turning 50 pretty soon. Have no interest in instagram or Id or anything else....

[kan...@aol.com]

I just signed up for Instagram. Just as much bullshit as FB. 

But I did ask to follow site dedicated to Michelle  Obama. Less BS.