Black women...guard your heart and headspace. Protect your energy!
It feels like I get on Facebook multiple times a year trying to get people to not fall for mis/dis/mal information. It's frustrating to me to see people fall for the easy okey doke. Short-attention spans don't help. What happens is that some people tend to share things that are misleading, extremely biased or outright lies because they don't take the time to consider the source, to do simple research to be sure that what they are sharing/saying is actually real.
AI images has come along and made things considerably worse. Some/many people can't tell the difference between a real picture and an AI generated image. What is comical but also annoying are the AI images of usually triplets where the caption says something like "they are 100 years old wish them a happy birthday." A totally fake image, with fake people. Yet, there are always hundreds, if not thousands of "happy birthday" comments and shares. <Face Palm>.
I know some people who'd say this isn't a big deal. But, it is. Because if folks are falling for the obvious fake, what happens when it is more obscure, hidden and the stakes are higher?
There was a recent incident in a group I'm in where it was clear (to me) that someone was trolling the group. Now, we know there are companies out here who hire people to troll. We know this. Troll farms. And then there are also automated bots. And of course just regular people, spewing garbage. The goal is to sow confusion and cause division. They want people to argue with each other and be at odds. There may be more specific outcomes that these trolls seek but the throughlines are always division and (negative) influence.
As Black women, who have for too long been the targets for so much bullshit. Yet, we've been the backbone of society. Everything about us from the hair on our heads to our toes have been the subject of both ridicule and also, envy. We are, rightfully, quite easily inflamed when we encounter specific situations because of the history of Black womens ideas, work, bodies, creations, etc. being under constant attack.
I get it. I feel it too.
But the trolls are out here trolling. They are throwing grenades by creating online conversations on topics they know are soft spots for us and like bees to honey, Black women are drawn to it. I really want Black women to stop giving trolls their energy and time. We have to decline these invitations. It is creating/contributing to trauma, these trolls are trying to divide, to keep us angry and others and each other.
This what I mean when I say the stakes are higher. Because these trolls aren't just making things up...they are pulling on existing dramas and continuing them, adding fuel to an already burning fire. When we don't practice discernment, when we don't do a bit of research, when we don't look at the source with a critical lens, they win, every single time.
Some good questions to ask are:
-What is the point of this?
-Who benefits from this?
-How does this feel in my body?
-Is this person/conversation deserving of my time or energy?
Back to the troll in the group...I was elated when other women also picked up on what was happening and then as we do, pulled receipts! It was an obvious troll, not difficult to suss out at all. But when people are blinded by rage, when the trauma button is pressed, they don't think, they just react. And that is what trolls want.
I don't want Black women to be exhausted or easily fooled by people who mean us harm.
A woman, who was defending her position quoted this James Baldwin quote:
“To be black and conscious in America is to be in a constant state of rage”
Listen, James was a man ahead of his time. He nails it every single time. However, we must remember we can channel it into being constructive, fighting trolls and each other online isn't constructive. They are rage baiting. The best response is no response. As it is said, "don't feed the trolls."
We don't deserve to have our nervous systems tore up because we keep accepting every invite to every manufactured battle that is designed to keep us angry, confused, and fearful.
Some people will misinterpret this as toxic positivity. And that is how I know they've missed the point.
I think it is easy to miss the point here when you're so caught up and riled up that you can't see the forest from the trees. I am learning thanks to my Human Design, my gift is the ability to see through the bullshit. Which, can feel like an attack on those who can't or aren't ready to see.
The status quo is crumbling, these systems of power are falling. Everything we see is the attempt to maintain power and control. This energy, this 2d/3d frequency is dying. Let it.
When I realized that these systems require my participation to thrive, I decided to remove my energy. The easy thing I can do is to not engage with trolls and content online that wants me angry and disconnected but instead, lean into places and spaces that are life giving. The best thing I can do is build the world I want to see and use my energy to create, not to battle dying, decaying systems and ideologies.
My plea is to guard your heart and head space. Don't give yourself over to things that are designed to drain you.
Image source and article: https://cis.cornell.edu/internet-trolls-are-made-not-born-cis-researchers-say