I think this is an artefact of social media, where everything seems to be so endlessly, tiresomely, combative (I remember times both on Twitter and Facebook where I asked a genuine question and it was taken as some kind of pugilistic challenge--this wasn't on controversial subjects, mind, one, for example, was me really not ever having encountered a turn of phrase someone used in talking about the TV show "Ozark" and asking what they meant). And we seem to have lost the ability to read in a spirit of generosity and of trust, always assuming that we must challenge the author or that the author is challenging us--I think this attitude is fatal to writing (as is having to insert endless disclaimers: I AM NOT DISLIKING SUPERHERO MOVIES *AT* YOU I JUST DON'T CARE FOR THEM OK.) It's certainly fatal to friendships, and most in-person exchanges tend not to take on this tenor. I don't know why online conversations are so vulnerable to it.
All of this is to say, I hear you, I get it--and I do think Substack , by design, is an antidote to a lot of that, but habits inculcated in us over the last decade or so die hard. And also, I like new years for the same reasons you do.
I think this is an artefact of social media, where everything seems to be so endlessly, tiresomely, combative (I remember times both on Twitter and Facebook where I asked a genuine question and it was taken as some kind of pugilistic challenge--this wasn't on controversial subjects, mind, one, for example, was me really not ever having encountered a turn of phrase someone used in talking about the TV show "Ozark" and asking what they meant). And we seem to have lost the ability to read in a spirit of generosity and of trust, always assuming that we must challenge the author or that the author is challenging us--I think this attitude is fatal to writing (as is having to insert endless disclaimers: I AM NOT DISLIKING SUPERHERO MOVIES *AT* YOU I JUST DON'T CARE FOR THEM OK.) It's certainly fatal to friendships, and most in-person exchanges tend not to take on this tenor. I don't know why online conversations are so vulnerable to it.
All of this is to say, I hear you, I get it--and I do think Substack , by design, is an antidote to a lot of that, but habits inculcated in us over the last decade or so die hard. And also, I like new years for the same reasons you do.
Thank you for this thoughtful and relatable response, Lynda. I’m so glad you’re here and enjoying the journey for similar reasons.