That doesn’t mean I won’t be writing any new pieces. I have too many ideas, and too little self-control, for that to happen. But I’m tired. I’m tired of toxic negativity online, and I’m tired of toxic negativity offline. I’m tired all around.
I mention this in-light of the newest MCU entry’s lukewarm reviews, especially since I’ve watched it, and because the internet’s a cesspool of hate and bigotry. It’s like Bob Chipman said in one of his videos: if you don’t manufacture outrage constantly, you’re going to fade into obscurity. It’s why I’ve shortened the titles of my entries, and why my output’s increased over the nearly-10 years The Whitly-Verse has existed. It’s exhausting fighting with SEO, truly. But there’s little I can do about it.
I’m not getting paid to do this. Between writing, editing, formatting, publishing and promoting my stuff, I’m doing the work of five people. The odd person might look over my work prior to upload it, particularly my compare-contrast pieces, but I’m running on passion here. That, and feedback I receive from my readers, mostly from family and friends. I like doing it, but keep that in mind.
That farming outrage nets eyeballs is upsetting. It stifles my creativity, forces me to prioritize my fight-or-flight instincts and makes it hard to experiment with ideas that excite me. My most-viewed piece is a rant on a shoddy fan-ship. In contrast, my favourite piece, about an obscure period in the Jewish calendar, has done well, but not come close to the number of views of that rant. And while I don’t regret writing either, I wish my non-antagonistic content got 1/10th of the traffic as the antagonistic content.
Going back to The MCU, it nets attention these days for terrible reasons. Ignoring how it’s been struggling lately, though its batting average is still better than most, the franchise can’t catch a break from bigots and attention-seekers fuelling outrage. With the former, it’s mostly internet bros mad that the franchise has moved on to younger, more diverse audiences. With the latter, I sometimes want to throttle them and ask if they have anything better to do. Either way, it’s unhealthy.
And it’s not only The MCU! If you think this mindset hasn’t leeched into other properties, I have a giant, blue alien race with long tails to sell you. Alternatively, I have space wizards with magic swords to sell you. Basically, anything people deem “dying” or “dead”, even when reality claims otherwise. Use your imagination.
Going back to The MCU, it nets attention these days for terrible reasons. Ignoring how it’s been struggling lately, though its batting average is still better than most, the franchise can’t catch a break from bigots and attention-seekers fuelling outrage. With the former, it’s mostly internet bros mad that the franchise has moved on to younger, more diverse audiences. With the latter, I sometimes want to throttle them and ask if they have anything better to do. Either way, it’s unhealthy.
And it’s not only The MCU! If you think this mindset hasn’t leeched into other properties, I have a giant, blue alien race with long tails to sell you. Alternatively, I have space wizards with magic swords to sell you. Basically, anything people deem “dying” or “dead”, even when reality claims otherwise. Use your imagination.
That’s what this is about. We can argue if over-saturation of franchise material has ruined it, but it’s irrelevant to the issue of how relentless negativity has ruined any and all conversations online. It’s all I see. I guess it was inevitable when the internet encourages anonymity, but talking to strangers doesn’t have to mean always being negative, right? Right?!
Writing this is increasing my exhaustion, amping up my anxiety. I’m already a worrywart, and the constant hate and rage-farming doesn’t help. Especially when it spills into real life, causing online hate to become real. I’ve seen upticks in Antisemitism and bigotry for years, compounded by October 7th, 2023’s massacre and its corresponding war. Not only have people become more hostile to Jews, but it’s made worse by the president of The US pouring gasoline on this out-of-control fire. If that’s not bad enough, he’s weaponizing the internet via the world’s richest man to encourage extremist rhetoric.
Calling this out hasn’t done anything, or has led to further hatred. People can debate whether or not Elon Musk made a Nazi salute, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that the message was heard by awful people. And I don’t care if he “supports Israel”. No one who espouses that ever stops to ask why.
Writing this is increasing my exhaustion, amping up my anxiety. I’m already a worrywart, and the constant hate and rage-farming doesn’t help. Especially when it spills into real life, causing online hate to become real. I’ve seen upticks in Antisemitism and bigotry for years, compounded by October 7th, 2023’s massacre and its corresponding war. Not only have people become more hostile to Jews, but it’s made worse by the president of The US pouring gasoline on this out-of-control fire. If that’s not bad enough, he’s weaponizing the internet via the world’s richest man to encourage extremist rhetoric.
Calling this out hasn’t done anything, or has led to further hatred. People can debate whether or not Elon Musk made a Nazi salute, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that the message was heard by awful people. And I don’t care if he “supports Israel”. No one who espouses that ever stops to ask why.
On the flip-side, I’m exhausted by people weaponizing the right’s support for Israel. It’s not only not news, it’s used to absolve people of accountability from their bigotry. Like attacking Gal Gadot and Shira Haas for starring in superhero properties, masking sexism with Antisemitism. Whenever I call that out, I’m accused of being a “Zionist shill”. What does that have to do with my concerns?!
You see what I’m getting at?
Reading this might be exhausting or triggering for some of you. It’s exhausting and triggering to write, that’s for sure! But while cathartic to jot this down, it also highlights the bigger issue: negativity sells more than positivity. That’s concerning. It’s concerning because it’s tiring, and it’s concerning because, as I’ve outlined above, it's unhealthy. There’s finite energy to devote to always being mad, but opting out of it hurts my traffic. I’m sure I’m not the only one experiencing this catch-22, either.
Besides, what’s wrong with a little joy and positivity? I’m not saying to stop being angry, as there are times where it’s appropriate, but there’s a reason why it’s a reactionary emotion: anger’s a response to something. Happiness is spontaneous, anger isn’t. But you wouldn’t know that with how anger’s marketed…
You see what I’m getting at?
Reading this might be exhausting or triggering for some of you. It’s exhausting and triggering to write, that’s for sure! But while cathartic to jot this down, it also highlights the bigger issue: negativity sells more than positivity. That’s concerning. It’s concerning because it’s tiring, and it’s concerning because, as I’ve outlined above, it's unhealthy. There’s finite energy to devote to always being mad, but opting out of it hurts my traffic. I’m sure I’m not the only one experiencing this catch-22, either.
Besides, what’s wrong with a little joy and positivity? I’m not saying to stop being angry, as there are times where it’s appropriate, but there’s a reason why it’s a reactionary emotion: anger’s a response to something. Happiness is spontaneous, anger isn’t. But you wouldn’t know that with how anger’s marketed…
We have to decide if it’s worth always being mad at everything. I don’t think it is. Not only does it kill the mood, it sucks the fun out of everything. It especially sucks the fun out of our hobbies, making them chores. Is that what we really want? Do we want to be the “No Fun Allowed” meme? Because what does that say? Nothing good!
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