some thoughts on political facebook posts

I have Facebook friends from all over the political oort cloud. From far right to far left. I tend to avoid arguing politics on Facebook -- on all social media, in fact.* Life's just easier that way. But I do see lots of posts, including memes, that my friends post.  Some I take seriously -- and some I don't. I have some general thoughts to share.

Now, before I begin, I should make a disclaimer. If you post your political stuff to vent your spleen without really caring about whether you persuade, then you can ignore any suggestions that I make; my suggestions are made under the assumption that political posts are intended to change opinions.

I am really tempted to illustrate the points below with real life memes that I've seen. But that would take us down the road of arguing specific issues, which isn't my goal here.

If you see a meme that supports a politician or cause you like, or makes fun of a politician or position you oppose or loathe, think for a second before posting it. Does the analogy hold up? Does the logic withstand scrutiny? Is the quote materially accurate and in context? If not, you may not want to post it. I have seen many memes that don't stand up to scrutiny, and it lessens my estimation of the poster's political positions. I have seen claims that someone said something, and thought "wow! Well, I can't defend that!" only to find out that there was some crucial element of context that was missing. In one case someone posted a quote. When I Snopesed it, I found that the politician in question never said what was attributed to him. I sent the Snopes link to the poster, who insisted that the quote was accurate because [highly-partisan website] said it was.

If you repeatedly post political items that don't withstand even minimal scrutiny, then I am less likely to take any of your posts seriously. So when you actually have a valid point to make...well, I assume you've heard about the boy who cried "wolf." Now, that may not be the most logical way for me to approach things. But I don't have the time to research every claim I see. So I am more likely to take seriously the claims from people who don't have a history of inaccuracy.

But, of course, if your Facebook posts are simply your version of primal screams, then have at it.

*which is not to say that I avoid politics completely, so don't look for some post or comment where I git kind of political and think that it's some kind of gotcha moment.