I unplugged from all my news sources a couple months ago, just to take a break from the crisis-outrage cycle. I've noticed two things:

1. I genuinely feel healthier and happier.
2. Ignoring all that shit hasn't impacted my life in any other way, except that I occasionally have to ask someone to explain a news item to me before they can rant about it (they don't mind).

Following or not following the impeachment hearings didn't change my behaviour or values, let alone the results of the hearings. Following or not following the primaries hasn't mattered at all.

Here in Canada, our next federal election is probably 3 years out. Whether I subject myself to constant outrage and anxiety for the next three years or not, chances are high that I will vote the same way. So what's the point?

It's nice to be conversant in current events, but the content and format of today's news is so distressing I'm honestly not sure it's worth it.

Stars for Big Money Salvia's best video in a while.

No one says you have to binge CNN with Fox News to be politically informed, in fact that may be the worst way to be informed.

But what you’re describing is a terrible way to be a citizen, ie comfortable ignorance. Politicians love the ignorant. You’re not likely to vote and if you do vote you can be easily manipulated with a couple commercials and sound bites.

@Two Jar, I totally agree with you, spending the occasional month ‘unplugged’ is psychologically healthy and doesn’t hurt anyone.

At one point I was following all the twists and turns of the Brexit negotiations, day after day. I don’t think it even made me more informed, just gave me indigestion. Took a month ‘vacation’ from it, did me a world of good.

Here comes Solro to jump to a bunch of dumb, aggressive conclusions.

Of course I will vote. Let's put that to bed. And before I vote, I will read the parties' platforms, as well as summaries of major events from trustworthy sources, and maybe I'll do one of those voting compasses too. That'll take me an afternoon or two. I'll do the same for the provincial elections, so that's four afternoons spread across three years in order to be a responsible and informed voter.

Now, what would I gain in the meantime by subjecting myself daily to polarizing, outrage-inducing news and commentary? Tell me what the world lost because 2Jar didn't follow Trump's impeachment or the democratic primaries. Really, make that case.

If you think your news entertainment benefits some higher purpose, I recommend you honestly interrogate that assumption. Because I'm not convinced any more.

You say politicians love ignorant voters, and that's true. But politicians love agitated, whipped-up fanatics much more. The danger of outrage-consumption is becoming the latter, while also suffering from stress and cynicism. I think it's a real problem.

And yeah, Hazel, I probably won't last more than a couple months, but it's been a great vacation so far.

Maybe you live in a more democratic country then, I don't really know Canada's politics. But in America the media, social media, and just about every top result when google searched are owned by corporate interests, super PACs backed by anonymous oligarchs or just straight up neo-Nazi sockpuppets.

So the end result of ignoring politics until the last day or two before voting means all the information you "find" is carefully targeted and crafted to emotionally influence the ignorant. Read again; EMOTIONALY influence...not facts or logic, just emotion. 'Scary minorities/taxes/criminals/socialist healthcare' and such.

I mean we have an entire god damn TV station that is nothing but a propaganda wing of one political party.

also learn to read before you go on your crazy canuck rant

You "Now, what would I gain in the meantime by subjecting myself daily to polarizing, outrage-inducing news and commentary?"

Me "No one says you have to binge CNN with Fox News to be politically informed, in fact that may be the worst way to be informed."

Yeah, until SolRo grows out of his anti-Jewish racism I’m really not interested in his opinion on anything else.

OK Meghan McCain

For context, the backstory here is that Meghan McCain once misunderstood and overreacted to a cartoon of "a tearful McCain holding a Jude six-pointed star, pouring matzo ball soup mix into a bowl", not realising the artist was Jewish himself and was being sarcastic.

Therefore, in SolRo's mind, all anti-Semitism is now justified and calling for Jews to be "sent off" is totally acceptable discourse.

That's what he means by "OK Meghan McCain".

Hazelnut, do you really believe he is a anti-semitic person or are you just stirring shit?

Thank you for at least asking! It’s actually really hurt me (much more than I expected) these last few days that people on this site who have known me for years would just assume I’m somehow just pretending to hate anti-semitism, that it’s all “concern trolling”.

I acknowledge I have myself to blame: first I should have let more time pass between arguing about the rich and arguing about anti-Semitism. (In my defence SolRo started it by saying it was ‘gullible’ to care about attacks on Jews — but it played into his hands). It’s also a mistake to let it bother me so much: there are tons of racists on the Internet, SolRo is just one more, and I shouldn’t let myself be wounded by the opinions of other anonymous Internet people.

I’ve promised myself to take a break for a few weeks, come back better able to avoid a “dance” with racists who argue in bad faith. But not quite yet.

For avoidance of doubt: yes, I am sincerely convinced that SolRo does hate Jews. I’ve actually wondered about it since 2015 but made excuses. He knows he can’t actually say that here, so he dances and dodges and dog-whistles like a mini-Trump.

He isn’t always subtle either. “Ship them off to some island in the middle of the pacific, because they cant seem to get along with anyone but themselves.” is pretty fucking un-subtle.

No, I am not stirring shit. I find the whole thing utterly distasteful. At first I really wanted to be wrong and tried to give SolRo every opportunity. At this point I’m convinced we’ve all given him way too many excuses because we’re familiar with him, like a racist uncle at Thanksgiving.

And that’s not acceptable because he’s using it to rile up hate, including hate against Jews. He has spent two weeks now loudly proclaiming that antisemitism isn’t real, that if you care about death threats sent to Jewish figures or the letter bombs they sent to Soros or attacks on synagogues you must be a “Meghan McCain”, a “right-wing propagandist” or their “gullible” tool.

Listen, feel free to hate billionaires, feel free to hate the government of Israel. If you do, please take the tiniest little effort to separate yourself from people who deliberately use that language as an old old libel against Jewish “bankers” and “propagandists” pulling the strings from the shadows.

Don’t be SolRo.

I mean, like, constant Ozzy.

Even Technical Ecstasy.

Technical Ecstasy has become one of my favorites because it's the only black sabbath album with Ozzy that I haven't heard 100 billion times.

I haven't heard Never Say Die in years because it's the only one I never owned.