Better understanding of the outcry

So, a while back I posted about a then-recent hashtag of BlackLivesMatter. At the outset, I didn't understand the root of it. I saw the surface with the disruptions. After having spent time (stretched out over a long duration) observing the numerous points of view, I finally did get it. I still stand behind the comment I made about if black lives matter, then every single black life matters no matter how long the heart beats. But I also have been given stories from friends that shed clearer light on why there is such a loud, heavy, and distraught lamentation from our community of color. I do understand and respect the difference in experiences that others have and I have completely lacked. I lack the articulation needed to impress upon some of my loved ones who still do not comprehend the perspective. I'd be convincing them against their will, and in an effort to keep the relationship with hopes of one day getting them to see a glimpse of perspective, I have to take the mustard seed planting approach. I wish I could just clobber them with a clue-by-four, but relationally speaking, that is going to completely implode. I came to the realizations I did by others planting mustard seeds with me. I have to trust the process and keep planting.

For those of you who may still not grasp the complaint, let me just say this: Just because you personally have not witnessed or experienced something, does not mean that it does not exist. Be quiet and observant long enough to take in what others are trying to say. Listen for the sake of learning and not for the purpose of just hearing and responding. Push pause on your countercomplaints for a while. You can disagree and still be respectful. You can say "I still don't see it, and I still don't understand it" without railing and name calling. All it does is waste valuable energy yelling at those you perceive to be your opposition and nothing gets accomplished but more vitriol and frustration.

Listen, so that you may hear and understand. Response can be paused long enough to absorb the messages.

Facebook forgets

Facebook seems to remember all the things. There's the "on this day" feature that pops up with memories of years past. There is a plethora of everything that you may or may not want or need to know, see, or join. And the one thing that drew social media users away from other platforms was the feed. With MySpace, you had to go to a user's page to see their content and interact with them. But whoa, here was this new platform that FED YOU the information in a list and you didn't have to navigate away from anything. That's both good and bad in many ways.

However, the biggest complaint about Facebook that users have been making seems to surround the curation of the feed that has become so frustrating for so many. It has prompted people to figure out, and even offer paid lessons on, how to work the system in a user's favor. I don't begrudge the income potential here at all. Knowledge is power in this instance. I was one of the ones who left MySpace in favor of the Facebook feed. Humans are inherently lazy, or at least geared to seeking the more efficient means for them personally.

So, can someone explain to me why Facebook has started resembling MySpace in that you pretty much have to go to someone's timeline/page/wall (whatever it is/was called) in order to catch up with their posts? Incidentally, doing that will temporarily put that person back in your feed but unless you interact enough to tweak the algorithms, that friend's content won't be shown in your feed. It's no wonder that despite the claim of number of active users increasing, most people I know are opting for other platforms to stay in contact, reach people, build their business presence in social media, or to just interact with the virtual world.

Facebook seems to be forgetting what got them to domination, and their algorithms are the source of derision, disdain, and frustration. I for one would rather have full control of the content in my feed versus a "curation"  based on some random math result that makes no sense to anyone - until it does make sense and things immediately change again.