Why not? I'm gonna step right up and post my thoughts sparked by the latest of
the endless social media explosions because, for me, these go beyond just the
immediate cases.
I dip into the social media pool fairly frequently, but I don't live on social
media. I don't always see the latest kerfuffle in the literary world at the
moment it happens, or block the latest persona non grata as fast as
some people would like ("You need to do better!" [to be fair, not directed
specifically at me, but apparently to those whose fingers don't perpetually
hover on the block button]), especially when said PNG's page doesn't reveal
diddly about what he or she might have done. At the risk of sounding defensive
— not that I'm gonna apologize for handling my social media presence as I see
fit — I use almost all my waking hours writing, editing, hiking, working at
being a good husband, or doing something personally productive with my time
and energy (why, yes, I am that self-centered); dealing with the
perpetual weirdness of social media, while important in many ways, tends to be
a lower priority.
That said, I do appreciate finding out that, yes, I should be aware of
certain goings-on with so-and-so, and I'll weigh that info on its merits and
act as I see fit. But I don't do that on your timetable, Mrs. Kravitz.*
Now, no one has come after me personally, but some of the vehemence among
commenters I've seen implies guilt by association if you haven't jumped on the
bandwagon fast enough for their liking. Transferring anger from the offender
to the otherwise uninvolved does kind of chap my ass.
All that said, YES, OF COURSE, I condemn the behavior of Mr. JD Barker. He was on my friends' list, not that I can recall ever interacting with him. I hope that my own conduct online and in-person would never suggest tacit approval of deplorable behavior.
*It occurs to me that, for the younger set, you might wanna look up
Bewitched.
