So, I’ve been a bit naughty on Twitter. I’ve been baiting some extreme right wingers to get them to clearly spout their sexist ideologies. And it’s gotten me thinking about society and the impact of social media. Once upon a time people who held the same values lived in close proximity to one another. The outliers were often persecuted, but as a whole oppressive ideologies were localized. Progress happened slowly, but it did happen. Older ideologies died out with their adherents and younger generations were able to move forward. Now we have a medium where we can communicate with anyone in the world instantly. We don’t even have to know the person. This lends those who see their ideologies dying a platform to spout them to a new generation who they could not reach before. Hateful ideologies spread the fastest this way. Oppressive ideologies. They aren’t popular enough to legitimately hold power, but then neither was the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei in the beginning. Voter manipulation, legal manipulation, and outright fraud lead to party power. History has shown where that ultimately leads. It is our duty to prevent recurrence of so heinous a political situation in any country. We may not agree on ideologies, but it gives neither side the right to dictate what rights or freedoms the other may have. I tried to convey to my Twitter sparring partners that I was not advocating that they be forced to follow my beliefs while informing them they had no right to force their beliefs on others. Sadly, it appears I failed as they both devolved into fallacious arguments and name calling. While it’s fun to push their buttons, it’s a stark reminder that they have been able to spread their hate while those who advocate true freedom of, and from, religion seem to be loosing. All of the social gains made in the past 100 years are quickly being whittled away and social media seems to bear the brunt of the blame. While I have been able to identify the main causative agent of our social woes I’m at a loss as to how to remedy the situation.
A New Adventure
In May I left a job I loved to follow my husband in his career ambitions. As my career path is rather narrow, finding employment myself has been difficult and, so far, fruitless. So, for the time being, I’m a stay at home mom. It’s been a transition I’m not entirely sure I was prepared for. My children are fairly well behaved, yet they are still a handful. I’m learning how to care for them while dealing with the depression brought on by the loss of a job I loved dearly. I decided to start this blog mostly as a way to consolidate my thoughts and share my journey. I am learning about my new state, Texas, and spending a lot more time with my children. So far I’ve learned that there are few R&D genetics jobs for someone without a PhD here in the Dallas area and that my children are obsessed with Minecraft (possibly unhealthily so). I will continue to update this as I become more familiar with my new life.
Scientist Mommy 