• Home
  • About Me
    • My Bio
    • Sponsor Info
    • Giveaways
    • My Other Freelance Writing
    • Video Hello
    • blogging advice
  • Love + Relationships
    • Dating
    • Engagements
    • Letters to my future husband
    • Love Lounge
    • marriage
    • Memo To Men
    • Open Letters
    • Singlehood
    • virginity
    • Weddings
  • Fashion + Style
    • beauty
    • do or don’t
    • fashion
    • hair
    • jewelry
    • men’s fashion
    • women’s fashion
  • Art + Design
    • art
    • design
    • dream home
    • flowers
    • illustration
    • Photographs
    • posters
    • tattoos
    • typography
  • Disability Dialogue
    • body image
    • Dating
    • Dating With Disabilities
    • depression
    • disabilities in the media
    • Disability
  • Life + Leisure
    • babies
    • birthday
    • books
    • dream vacation
    • Entertainment and Media
    • etsy love
    • family
    • food
    • gift guide
    • holidays
    • In The Pursuit of Happiness
    • link love
    • magazines
    • Man Candy
    • movies
    • music
    • peek inside
    • Shopping
    • TV
    • would you rather

Wednesday, August 14, 2019

My Essay on CNN Opinion: “What If We All Unfollowed Trump on Twitter?”

Unfollowed TrumpImagine if we all unfollowed Trump on Twitter. What would happen??

That’s the question I posed on social media recently, after I was inspired by Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy’s eye-opening tweet in which he explains why he did just that.

Then last week, I got to explore that question more in my latest for CNN Opinion because, frankly, there was just so much to unpack here. It sounds so simple, does it? And, it may even seem small, but I had a bit of a revelation while we were in New York City. I didn’t read Trump’s tweets all week and, honestly, I didn’t know this level of blissful existence was possible. For far too long, I found myself checking his Twitter on the regular — usually daily — and my mood was really starting to feel it. Without even realizing it, I’d developed this unhealthy habit. Why did I feel so compelled to read his disgusting dribble when most of it wasn’t even true? There’s enough bullying on social media. I certainly didn’t need to seek it out myself! The more I think about it, if we ALL unfollowed Trump? That just might be the most patriotic thing we ever do.

Here’s an excerpt of the piece, in which I also explore whether it’s irresponsible, especially for me as an op-ed writer and journalist, to ignore his tweets…

I’ve found myself deep in that endless scrolling. What was he doing? What was he saying? Who was he bullying now? I looked at his Twitter not because I wanted to stay on top of current events necessarily; I just couldn’t put my phone down, in the same way that you can’t stop watching really bad reality TV for its shock value: “OMG, did he really just tweet that?” Sigh of disbelief.

Not reading Donald Trump’s words on social media would be a powerful act of collective resistance. Millions of us could be sending the message that racism, homophobia, misogyny and ableism have no place in 2019. Not in our communities. Not in our government. And not in our social media feeds.

What Trump craves is for Twitter to be his stage and for people who hang on his every word. He wants an audience. Let’s not give him one.

You can read the full piece here and I’d love to hear your thoughts. Feel free to email me anytime at mellow1422@aol.com and let’s chat! And of course, feel free to share my essay on Facebook, Twitter or even your local refrigerator. If you share on Twitter, be sure to tag me @melissablake so we can connect! I can’t wait to hear from you! Love you all… xoxo

[Photo via Unsplash]

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Email

2 Comments Filed Under: civil rights, CNN Opinion writing, Election

Related Posts

  • My Essay on CNN Opinion: “What I Learned After My Troll-Defying Tweet Went Viral”
  • My Essay on CNN Opinion: “Why Olivia Benson Is the Role Model We Need Right Now”
  • Photos of the world from 1963
  • My Essay on CNN Opinion: “Bell Bottoms and a Blended Family: ‘The Brady Bunch’ at 50”

Comments

  1. Paul Loughman says

    Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 12:38 pm

    This editorial appearing on CNN was the catalyst for me to find and follow your excellent blog. You are so spot on. The only surefire way to disempower a narcissist is to stop paying him the attention upon which he so desperately depends. Your article was one of the best things I’ve ever had to pleasure to read on CNN.

    Reply
  2. ndj says

    Wednesday, August 14, 2019 at 7:56 pm

    Excellent article— spot on! I have found it devastating to watch as the current president methodically tries to dismantle every good thing done by the presidents before him. It both sickens and scares me. To stop myself from falling into despair I have to take a break from all of it from time to time.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

So About What I Said is a daily blog that covers relationships, disabilities, lifestyle and pop culture. I love to laugh and have been known to overshare. I also have an unabashed obsession with pop music, polo shirts, and PEZ dispensers. Read more...

Let's Be Friends
Pinterest
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Bloglovin
RSS

Contact Me
Subscribe by Email

About Us

dotted lineAbout Us
archive

Archives

So About What I Said © 2023 · Design by Maiedae · Development by High Note Designs

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.