I’m on the fence with this one Penguin. As usual you make some good points but there’s more nuance to consider.
For one, as I said in a previous response, to assume home is a safe space for everyone is naive.
Also, someone else commented about young people (under 40) being too fragile without considering that they’ve grown up in a world where being young is criminalized, they’ve been medicated since childhood because it’s easier than dealing with systemic issues, they’re the first generation to hit adulthood with addict parents, they grew up with active shooter drills (US), decline of prosperity with closing pathways to wealth creation, and unlike us older ppl, there is no reprieve from the vitriol. It’s not just at school where you can go home and decompress or heal from noxious and abusive ppl and harassment. They (trolls) swarm the internet. Bullying is 24/7. It’s very hard to live today without access to the internet. You need it for work, you need it for school, you need it for help and information. Lots of times you have to have it for banking, taxes, and paying bills.
That’s why the rise of "safe space" happened. The normal venues disappeared. Therefore, it shouldn’t be so surprising that people are struggling with anxiety. And they’re not weak or snowflakes for it either. They’re just struggling with new dynamics and trying to learn new coping skills.
Social media is problematic here because it is fully public for the most part. It’s interesting that you used the term "clubhouse" because that’s exactly what’s needed. A private or semi-private area ensconced within a social media app as a whole where groups can field test and refine ideas before hitting the public at large. Without the handicap of geography and time limitations. And without the harassment of trolls and ppl who have no business weighing into the discussion stirring the pot because they feel entitled to and get off on it.
Google tried to do this with Google circles but it was a woefully sophomoric effort. Facebook is closer with it’s groups option but it’s limiting as well.
People, say for example, pagans should be able to connect with other pagans without having to constantly block Evangelical wing nuts screaming at them that they’re going to hell. Indigenous ppl should be able to connect to properly grieve a genocide without a bunch of conservative trolls intruding into that space to make sure everyone knows they think Indians should just get over it. And so forth and so on.
Just because it’s virtual now and you can hide behind anonymity doesn’t mean it’s okay to be so rude and break down boundaries of basic public civility. It is still considered rude to crash a funeral or a wedding isn’t it? Throwing tomatoes at performers plying their craft is still considered bad form isn’t it? Heckling a service, ritual, or practice of a faith is still a no-no isn’t it? And don’t we still send kids to the principal’s office for disrupting class or call security to remove trespassers and ppl having a meltdown at our business meetings?
What’s the difference?
Not everything that occurs in public space is meant to be for public debate.
Yes. You always have the right to be an asshole. If you decide to go that route, you also have the obligation to experience what happens to all assholes in the end. Rebuke. Ostracism. Push back. Derision. Scorn.
