I made a list

As you can tell from my last post, I hate contentiousness.  I don't like to fight and argue and I literally get sick to my stomach when people around me engage in that type of behavior.

I also hate censorship.  I hate having to monitor what I say or do in public, for fear of offending someone, or even worse, having some ill informed person respond in a callous or casually indifferent manner, thereby offending those about which I care deeply.

I have strong feelings about certain subjects and sometimes feel the need to share those thoughts with others and relish hearing what my thoughtful intelligent friends have to say on the subject.  But I hate nasty negative thoughts and argumentative behavior and just don't want to see it on my feed or shoved rudely into my face, without regard for the feelings of others.  I only see the energy getting worse, as we come closer to the election cycle.

So I am having a dilemma.  Censorship vs. Free Speech.  And I have now compromised.

Since I hate arguing, yet I hate censoring myself, I made a list on Facebook.  I use this list to moderate the discussion.  With it I can and remove potentially offensive statements from the view of people who may be fired up or even outraged by my views, as I don't intend to offend people that I truly I care about.  I also use it to cull out extreme and reactionary viewpoints that are only brought forward to offend, or mock, belittle and diminish the views of others.  People who know me know what I think. I am outspoken and fully willing to share what I believe, but I don't feel the need to rub it into the face of folks who feel, passionately, different than I do, and I don't want to argue unnecessarily. 

So I made a list.

I call my list The Naughty List.  Don't know exactly why, but it seemed to fit.  The people on this list aren't naughty necessarily, but these are my friends who can have a civil discussion and share intelligent viewpoints, respecting the views of others, without bringing hate or derision to the party. Some agree with me and some don't, but everyone plays nicely in the sandbox.

So there you have it.  I have finally censored myself, but somehow it feels ok to me.

Have a great Tuesday y'all.