Barry and I have volunteered to send text messages on behalf of Joe Biden’s campaign for President of the United States. I know that some of you may disagree with us on this choice, but rest assured I am not here to try to convince you otherwise. I am just telling you this so that I can ask a simple question: what has happened to civility?
I am not sure just how the list of names we are given to contact is compiled; our communication with the campaign is all electronic. When we indicate that we are ready to get started, we receive a list of people to contact using a standard message which simply says, “Hi, (name), I am contacting you on behalf of Joe Biden and other Democrats running for office.” The site then provides a selection of scripted responses depending on how the contact reacts to that introductory message (if they do at all, which is definitely a minority of recipients).
The first couple of times the names on the lists were entirely Democrats, but the last two batches, evidently taken from the general voter rolls, included a large percentage of Trump supporters, many of whom responded with offensive and profane language. The system allows us to note this and remove such names from the list.
I am telling you this because I have a simple question: when did people become so angry and so uninhibited about expressing that anger? We have lived through many presidential elections, and though people may have adamantly disagreed about the candidates, they were still able to talk with one another. The real question is why, in this election, there are people filled with so much hatred that a brief text message can elicit a complete lack of civility.
These are stressful times we are all living through. But for people to allow that to fill their souls with anger fills me with nothing but intense sadness.
Love (Lord knows we need more),
Rebecca
2 comments:
Personally I think the problems have been exacerbated over many years starting with email and growing with social media. It has become very easy to be uncivil with someone whom you will never likely meet face-to-face. But it seems clear to me this attitude has bled over into direct in -person conflict as well. None of this is new. Just look at, say, when the first black students tried to walk into a newly-segregated school...The National Guard had to protect them physically but could not or did not stop the crowds from shouting terrible things.
I can't say that Trump did nothing to promote this type of behavior and is the cause of this horror.
Sheila Feinerman
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