Since the election last week, reports abound of racist texts sent to black Americans – including children – telling recipients they’d been “selected to pick cotton at the nearest plantation” and to “prepare to be searched” on the plantation after being picked up in a van by slave catchers. Equally disturbing is the surge in sexist and abusive attacks on women on social media platforms – with language like “your body, my choice” and “repeal the 19th [Amendment].”
Unfortunately, considering the current political climate, offenses like these may become more common. The perpetrators of these senseless acts want to instill fear and sow division in an already polarized American society. They don’t value people and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But that takes time and not every infraction amounts to a law-breaking offense. Stupidity and disrespect alone aren’t always enough to prosecute someone.
With the near constant barrage of news and social commentary coming at us these days, what can we do when the volume threatens to break us?
1 – TURN DOWN THE NOISE
Bullies tend to stop harassing others when they no longer have an audience. So beyond reporting them for appropriate legal action, don’t give them an audience. Attention is what these immature people seek. So don’t give it to them. Stop talking about them on repeat and shift your focus to things you can control.
Limit your time on social media and stop doom-scrolling. The trolls are going to be there if you look for them (and sometimes even if you don’t), but you don’t have to view their posts voluntarily. You certainly don’t need to share their content with others – either online or through conversation – which just glorifies their actions. Report bad behavior to social media platforms as you see it. Unfollow people who follow them and protect your own feed as well as you can.
Get your news from a variety of reputable sources to get a balanced picture, and then turn it off. How you get your news matters. Reading a news story may be less jarring than watching a video report of it. Talking over a headline with your spouse or friend might be easier than discussing it at lunch in the break room with co-workers. Set boundaries for your own self-preservation, whatever that means for you.
2 – REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU STAND FOR
Bad actors will say just about anything (especially in the faceless online world) to rile you up. But remember, just because they say it doesn’t make it so. Their words are designed to be inflammatory and offensive, hoping to get a rise out of you, whether or not any of it is actually true.
You know who you are. So do your family members and friends. Report illegal or unethical behavior where formal consequences could result but try to resist taking the bait and engaging them personally, which will only serve to deplete you.
Instead, get quiet and take a beat. Be alone without distraction – meditate, go on a walk, journal, pray or whatever gives you peace and solace. Take some deep breaths. Then focus your mind on the values, people, issues and organizations that matter to you. What do you want to concentrate your energy on in a constructive way?
3 – YOU DO YOU
Use your mental capacity and your precious time doing what’s important to you instead of reacting to the outside noise that only drains you. We need you, so don’t let others distract you from what you’re here to achieve.
Do your job. Help your neighbors. Love your partner. Be a good parent and an example for your children. Serve your community and impact others constructively as best you can. Stay true to who you are and you’re going to be alright.
Things are likely to get louder and louder. People are going to say and do crazy things, and unfortunately, we don’t have a mute button to turn them off. But we don’t have to buy into their crazy.
Keep standing up for what’s right but do it in a way that preserves your sanity. It’s the only way we’re all going to get through this ever-changing political and cultural landscape intact.
