Weather or Not

Severe Outflow by R. Edwards

Wartime in the Era of Social Media: Watch What You Share!

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As you’ve likely heard by now, Russian forces have entered Ukraine. One nation’s invading a much smaller, less-powerful neighbor is nothing new historically; it’s happened countless many times. But it is new to the cell-phones/social-media/fake-image era.

Real and bogus images and videos will abound, flooding the internet from true reporters, propaganda bots, and well-meaning but ignorant Uncle Bubbas. Without first-hand knowledge of the situation, you are unlikely to know, with absolute certainty, which is which. You also are likely to overestimate your own ability to judge what is authentic.

This message below is nonpartisan, wise advice right now for all: self-discipline and restraint.

Don’t share emotionally manipulative war images and stories without independent verification — preferably from multiple credible media sources. [Mainline media has been caught sharing fake images hastily before.] Even then, choose prudence over impulse, and wait awhile.

It’s easier for most humans to react with reflexive emotion than self-discipline, restraint, analysis, logic, and reason. We meteorologists have seen this ad nauseam with frequent sharing of old, misdated, manipulated and/or outright fake storm images. Far more is at stake here than some old or fake storm image passed off as yesterday’s event!

War images (real, fake or old) will be shared widely without verifying authenticity — sometimes even by “credible” but duped media. For the sake of all, don’t be the fooled fool.

And for those thirsting for some formally published science on the issue of sharing fake, manipulated and/or misleading imagery, here you go. It really does cause social and psychological damage!

Election Day(s): A Useful Litmus Test of Character

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As I write this, many polls around the country still are open or just now closing; results are unknown and unknowable for at least a few more hours. As such, this is provably an evenhanded and nonpartisan statement, as intended.

More than any other in my lifetime, more than any other likely since the Taft/Roosevelt split that backdoored Woodrow Wilson’s ascension to office, and perhaps even that, the electorate is sharply divided and sharply at odds, albeit in an intensely binary way (unlike 1912). Social strife comparable to the ’60s meshes with political division unlike any since the Bull Moose era, and maybe the Civil War.

Polarization and demonization are the norms. “Woke” and MAGA factions alike often are seen on social media regurgitating steel-hard political and/or social rigidities from their unbending, unforgiving, absolutist echo chambers. You’re either for us or against us, you’re evil and we’re good, my side will save us and your side will destroy us, no middle ground nor third-way alternative is tolerated. Any third way is falsely and illogically perceived as “siding with the other guy”.

I don’t offer a short-term solution because in this toxic climate, there is none. The “victor” will claim the spoils, figuratively raping, pillaging, and running roughshod over the “loser”, especially if the Presidency and both Congressional chambers become dominated by a single party. The other side will backlash socially, a collective “sore loser” mentality. “Divide and conquer” will have won as a time-honored tactic of both Satan and our nominally representative duopoly.

That’s the background. Now to take it down to the personal level of you and me. Regardless of how this night turns out, all is not lost! You can’t control most of what happens in society, nor online. Yet there is one thing you can control: yourself.

You have the opportunity for self-improvement, laid at your doorstep on a shining silver platter. Regardless of the strife sure to come, each of us can take this night, and days to come, as a wonderful opportunity to get to know the true character of people, and filter social-media toxicity from our lives.
Other people’s social-media behavior in light of tonight’s results is your litmus test of their character. Take advantage of the test, to improve your own situation. How?

Calmly take measure of how your “friends”, relatives and acquaintances respond to whatever happens. Then use that measure to apply distance or closeness to those people, accordingly, to improve and detoxify your relationships.

Draw closer to those, on either side, who treat the results with humility, forgiveness, levelheaded rationality, and calm, measured reason in either their support or opposition. Stay true to those who advocate their positions with facts, logic, reason, and, for us Christians, time-honored Biblical morals (all of them, not just cherry-picked).

Withdraw from those “winners” (even if on your side) who gloat, brag, taunt, and/or cuss out the “losers”, and pray they’ll grow up someday. Withdraw from the sore “losers” who deal in melodrama, and/or spew numerous ad hominems hither and yon. Withdraw from he or she who reacts in ways driven by emotion instead of reason, who insults others with personal attacks, lashes out in anger, or uses gratuitous and frequent profanity. Withdraw far from anyone on either side who advocates non-defensive violence or destruction of others’ property.

What does “withdraw” mean? It can be unfriending, unfollowing or just ignoring; regardless, their character is revealed in their response, and the litmus test of character has been applied by circumstances. “Withdraw” also can mean remove your stake in those people personally, but keep close, vigilant watch on them (manifesting concepts of Sun Tzu and the fictional Michael Corleone).

I don’t claim perfection in these regards (who honestly can?), yet will seek ways to improve–one of which is to notice and remove online poison clouding the worldview and dragging on growth.

The next few days on social media offer uncommonly acute circumstances that vividly will reveal the character of many who use it. Make use of that opportunity to assess, tactically and pragmatically, who you want as influences in your life. Observe closely. They will provide that answer for you!

Scattershooting 181203

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Scattershooting while wondering what happened to respect for the Constitution precisely as it was literally written…

NEIL TYSON SEXUAL MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS: Famous astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson has been accused of sexual misconduct. Did it happen? I don’t know and you don’t either. Still, as he noted in his eloquent and dignified response, even if the majority of the accused are guilty, some are not, and due process is needed. I’ll add, ALL accused in this nation are Constitutionally entitled to due process. The lynch mob of social-media opinion is unhelpful. Yes, I am aware of the overtones of the latter sentence, and yes, I state it deliberately, because it applies to these situations, as it did to Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh.

False accusations also do happen. The Duke Lacrosse and UVA Rolling Stone events are high-profile examples, and thousands more men (including at least two I know) have been accused falsely. Was Tyson? Or is he just lying in an eloquent and dignified manner? Again, you don’t know and neither do I. Other hot takes here that I’ve seen on Twitter include patently irrational ones to the effect of, “He’s guilty, because all men are to some extent”, “Believe her no matter what” and the dangerous and hypocritical, “Even if he’s innocent, the sacrifice of innocent men is worth it if it means justice in the end.” So instead of rushing to conclusions (were you in those rooms?), why don’t we be *mature* about this, avoid hot takes and “instapundit” reactions, evaluate credibility with facts, logic and reason (not emotion), and wait until more actual evidence arises, one way or another.

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PLAYOFF-BOUND SOONERS AGAIN: Beating the Whorns is a great occasion whenever it can happen, but especially in the Big 12 (-3) Championship game in JerryWorld. As Lincoln Riley rightly noted, OU earned the final playoff spot by beating every team on the schedule (including the one to which they had a close loss earlier). If other teams’ fans want to complain, my answer is straightforward: don’t get blown out by Purdue (tOSU) nor lose twice, including by 20+ to LSU (UGa). That said, as in the last two playoff appearances, and despite an insanely good offense led by the sort of dual-threat dynamo at QB that historically has given Saban defenses fits, expectations are tempered by a lack of defensive skill and talent that an occasional big turnover play only can cover so much. Yes, most of this defense’s problems are related to lack of talent. That is not going to go away in one month. Until OU recruits taller, stronger, stickier defensive backs, and gets back to bringing in powerful, disruptive interior defensive linemen in the Tommie Harris and Gerald McCoy modes, who can generate upfield pressure and collapse the pocket, improved coaching or scheming (which aren’t that evident yet) are only going to go so far. So we have no pass rush at all, and the secondary is undersized and easily confused. A high-scoring playoff loss is in OUr future, but regardless, it has been a fun and exciting season, one to remember well regardless of playoff results.

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PUBLICITY STUNTS in the SOCIAL-MEDIA ERA: Hey kiddos, the screen-capture below represents an outstanding example of what we know as a publicity stunt, as well as people falling for it. This is an activity designed to portray an image via social media, a form of passive-aggressive psychological manipulation. They’re crooks, but not dummies. They knew this would be filmed and propagated. Scanning Twitter responses and retweets, I see plenty of suckers for this false “commoner” schtick, despite the fabulous wealth and dubious history of both of these individuals. “No security”? That’s crap too. Bet your life savings there’s undercover Secret Service seated very near, since one of the passengers is an ex-President.

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R.I.P. GEORGE H.W. BUSH:
Our 41st President, George H.W. Bush, has passed on, and now is reunited with his bride of 73 years, Barbara. He is the only person I’ve met who ever was President. Then-Vice-President Bush visited an “at risk” youth job fair I was attending in Dallas in 1985, and I shook his hand and had a brief conversation. I was there seeking part-time summer work opportunities, and he was pleasant, congenial and seemed genuinely curious about my aspirations. I later didn’t agree with some of his presidential decisions; nevertheless, my admiration of him was and remains large. I don’t regret voting for him twice, especially given the alternatives, and thoroughly enjoyed my visit to his interesting and insightful library and museum in College Station. Few ever served this greatest of nations so long and honorably, from before the Japanese shot his plane down in the Pacific theater of WW2 to his successful fight to get Nixon out of office, loyal service to the great Ronald Reagan, to his post-presidential charitable works. Bush was a good man who fought for his nation in battle and inside the Beltway…and a statesman the likes of whom we haven’t seen in the presidency since. Much respect…