I Won't Back Down (And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going)

As America's all-time worst mistake begins his should-have-been-unthinkable second term as our odious Grifter-In-Chief, a number of my friends are detaching from social media. I don't blame them. The commandants of Amazon, Facebook, and the cesspool formerly known as Twitter are complicit in the return of Traitor Don, so--what's the phrase?--fuck them. In our collective fury as concerned and conscientious citizens, it's understandable that many of us don't want to sully ourselves with even the appearance of giving the oligarchs one motherlovin' dime.

But I am telling you I'm not going. I'm not leaving Facebook, at least not quite yet.

I have spent years building connections with old friends and making new friends on Zuckerberg's playground. There is an alternative to Twitter; I was never very active in that world, but I deleted my Echhs account last year and I may consider moving to Bluesky. I have not run across anything that approximates Facebook. I use FB for promotion (of my writing and the radio show), and also for staying in touch, networking, commiserating, trading quips and ideas, discovering new and old stuff that seems cool. I don't see a comparable avenue for that elsewhere. 

I'm sure someone will build something eventually, and I pray that enterprising someone won't be a Fascist. For now, I will remain in my place, on my soapbox. I have invested too much time and effort for me to allow a mass of red-hatted swine to evict me from my chosen space.

I'm neither opposed to nor dismissive of boycotts. I don't eat at Chik-fil-A, even though I love fried chicken sandwiches. I don't shop at Home Depot any more, and I've never been to Hobby Lobby. I try to limit my patronage of Walmart. I do use Amazon, but I buy LOCAL!! whenever possible (especially when I'm buying books). We try to strike the balance of ideals and pragmatism that works for us.

I don't have sufficient reason or inclination to quit Facebook. I block as many ads as I can (at least symbolically denying Zuck an eensy bit of revenue), I banter and chatter with pals, and I stand my ground. 

I won't back down. Join hands. Circle the wagons. No one's gonna run us off our land, man.

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My new book The Greatest Record Ever Made! (Volume 1) is now available, and you can order an autographed copy here. You can still get my previous book Gabba Gabba Hey! A Conversation With The Ramones from publisher Rare Bird Books, OR an autographed copy here. If you like the books, please consider leaving a rating and/or review at the usual online resources.

This Is Rock 'n' Roll Radio with Dana & Carl airs Sunday nights from 9 to Midnight Eastern, on the air in Syracuse at SPARK! WSPJ 103.3 and 93.7 FM, streaming at SPARK stream and on the Radio Garden app as WESTCOTT RADIO. Recent shows are archived at Westcott Radio. You can read about our history here.