Heh

[richardf8]

So. I read an article the other day that talked about social media and the ways in which people are often chilled in what they are willing to say because of the degree to which trolls, thought police, and other bad actors can leave one feeling like saying anything real or strong is just not worth the BS. 

It rang true.

My reticence about posting here has been, in the main, about some issues I had on LiveJournal with users that engaged in that sort of behavior.  It was not the fault of the platform, but of those individuals.

But I have come to realize that ceding that space served no one. It just left it to be filled by all kinds of broken voices that are tearing the world apart, while anything I might have said that anyone else might have thought worth amplifying has languished instead in my own mind. I don't flatter myself that my words can change the world, but I have come to understand that being silent is tantamount to standing idly over my neighbor's blood. 

I have also realized that letting these things languish in my own head has not been good for me. Writing is a necessary kind of catharsis, though, if I'm honest, it's really more of a necessary mental emesis.  In the event of swallowing too many toxic ideas, induce vomiting  

One final note.  JK Rowling has become a hero to me. Her writings, from Harry Potter to her Richard Galbraith books to the Fantastic Beasts screenplays betray an understanding of the nature of evil and the dangers it currently poses that has convinced me that she is one of the few remaining people in public life with her head on straight. I do not say that for any other reason than to let the reader know that if they are not comfortable with her, they can expect not to be comfortable with me.