Inside the echo chamber

            I was called a white supremacist. I laugh at this now but at the time I was confused. Why would someone call me this? Did I do something wrong? As I thought about these questions and reflected on what I had said I came to realize that I was not a white supremacist. To fully understand this story we need to go back to the beginning.

            Like any story now-a-days this begins on Facebook. Recently I joined a group called Free Cascadia. I joined this group because I realized that I was not getting a lot of ‘left wing’ media and so I decided to see what the other side was talking about. One of the posts in the group was a picture of the statue of George Washington and the person who posted it said it needed to be torn down and that George Washington was a racist who committed Genocide. Me, not able to keep my mouth (or rather my keyboard) shut had to reply.

            I tried to explain that Washington was more than just a slave owner and a fighter of natives. That history was complex and everyone is a product of their time. This seemingly neutral stance led to a torrent of replies full of hatred toward Washington and articles from Antifa websites put forward as ‘proof’. As if I could not see the clear bias in those articles. I read them and refuted their points but for my efforts I was told that I am a bigot. It was then that someone asked “Are you a white supremacist?” I did not respond to the question. I had gone to bed and woke up to another torrent of comments demanding that I answer the question.

            I thought about it for a long time. I wondered if I answer the question honestly by saying no I am not what will happen? I would be virtue signaling and giving in to their demands. I thought this question to be so ridiculous that it did not warrant a reply. If I lied and said I was they would believe it. If I told the truth they would call me a liar. They had asked a question they had already determined the answer to and no answer I could give would be satisfactory. So I made the choice to not play that game. I am still part of that group because it is important to see where the other side is coming from. Yet all that is posted are articles about how to overthrow Trump and Capitalism. It is hard to go into someone else’s echo chamber but well worth the experience you find. Just remember to stick to your values and don’t play games where your only option is to lose.