Through a Glass, Darkly

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known." 1 Corinthians 13:12 (King James Version)

Go to X.com. 

Have a look around. 

You’ll likely be confronted by a mix of overtly right-wing content (Christian Nationalism, Anti-woke posts, Nazi revisionism, and loads of loads of Trump). The degree of coverage of this material will vary depending on how much you engage with it, but its hard to miss. There is also a supply of batshittery on every subject imaginable: astrophysics, evolutionary biology, traditional women’s roles, virology, all sorts of revisionist history, etc. etc.. 

It’s astonishing to see how utterly flimsy most of the arguments and positions are from the most vocal and prolific posters. Any expertise (or even a web search) is enough to dismantle most of their positions but that never seems to bother anyone. The Hellsite grinds on - inexorably promoting the most ill-informed, cruel, flagrantly dishonest content imaginable. 

The numbers of followers and engagements for this content are often in the tens of thousands - and X’s business model states that the number of engagements that your content generates determines how much cold hard cash you receive. Shitposters can make real money by fermenting outrage, counting the clicks, and pulling in the cash. Not only that, but the amount of money you pay to the platform determines your level of 'reply boost'. For a mere $40 a month, your content will be put in front of more people, so that you can drive more people crazy with rage baiting, propagandizing horse dung. 

I have been active on the site, largely because I want to engage (see my post: “We Need to Talk”), argue with people with an opposing view, and understand what-the-hell is going on in these spaces.

Basically, it’s a horror show.

On my feed, I see frequent opposes about Trump’s general magnificence, about the absolute truth of the Bible, denialism about COVID, Trad Wife posts of how idyllic and wonderful married, childbearing life is, and (strangely) AI-generated movies of huge men wearing full gothic plate mail brandishing templar heraldry [apparently as an appeal to a sort of 12th Century crusader vibe]. There's a plethora other vaguely hilarious, deeply horrifying wrongheaded ideological takes on almost any subject you could name. 

For example, I replied to a post from a guy with the handle `MagaGrunt1` where he  posted a threatening image of a masked special forces soldier with the caption "The Kind of Infidel Allah Warned You About" - I thought the imagery looked genuinely terrifying and said "This post makes you look like a murderous psychopath", to which he responded with a cordial 'ty' as a response. This was one of the more good natured interactions I've had. Yesterday, I posted an outraged (but evidence-backed) response to a COVID denier that racked up a nice thousand or so views for which I received a block and an ad-hominem attack that questioned my motives, expertise, and nationality. These were nothing special, just two of the interactions I've had on X over the last couple of days. There are pastors, authors, and influencers galore. Clearly, this is one of the main marketplaces of the attention economy, and there is no shortage of click hungry vendors out there.  

At some level, I feel some level of catharsis through these interactions. Politically, there is so much astonishing nonsense flying around, just attempting to occasionally post a rebuttal both feels good and I even get the odd 'like' from a stranger or two - so maybe other people are a little inspired by these mild attempts to stand up for what's right, at least in my eyes. 

I need to tread carefully with my own inner demons here. I like to argue. I especially like to argue with people who I know I'm never going convince them regardless. I feel these tendencies pulling me deeper into participating more, but I know it's not good for me. My wife actively hates me being on X - but she's been a good sport about it so far. 

Now, what's interesting to me is the predominance of so-called Christian Nationalist voices, combined with AI-generated imagery and bold faith-based statements that just scream 'click on me' - either from heathen dissenters like myself or true believers who feel the spirit move them to shout a text-based 'Amen'. 

If the Devil was real, he'd likely really love X.  I can imagine an episode of the dystopian TV show, Black Mirror, where Satan would run a whole drove of X Premium Plus accounts that post this kind of content. They'd goad, bait, and trick vulnerable people into posting all sorts of irreverent, evil, and nonsensical diatribes on X. The posters would damn themselves through their cruelty. The Devil's minions would rack up souls by the million, cackling raucously as they harvest our misery and pain. 

In so many ways, X is the antithesis of an authentic place of worship, self-exploration, or spiritual awakening. It creates a marketplace that accelerates and monetizes quick angry responses - with no guardrails for accuracy, consideration, or decency. X has been shown to rarely enforce any of its own community standards regarding online behavior and, as evidenced by my minor skirmishes with its agents, pretty much anything goes in there. It has made me want to understand Christianity more deeply. Something must be done to provide some intelligent alternative to people being drawn into these conversations. 

To return to the title of this piece - the dark glass we see through here is the endless scrolling feed of bullshit that unceasingly attempts to pull you in and trap you in its folds. 

Resist it and the voices you hear within it. 

They are sent by deceivers to profit from your darkest impulses and your soul will suffer from their influence. 

...

Hey! I think I'll post something on X about that...