Why I Will Write
Some reflections on moving forward
I have decided to wind down my personal Twitter account. In this newsletter I would like to take some time to explain why I am doing this and reflect on some of the time spent in the Victoria political scene while on Twitter (I know it is X now, but it will always be Twitter to me).
The reason for removing the account is actually very simple, it has not brought me any joy in some time and I feel it no longer can. That is not to say that I do not enjoy my time on social media and engaging with a large number of like and unlike-minded people from around the city. I have really enjoyed the connections that I have made and these will be invaluable and cherished in the months and years ahead no doubt. However, beyond these connections, I am not getting much else from the site or from my recent engagements on it. Part of this is my own fault and part of it is just the general environment which has weighed on me as of late.
I understand that Twitter is not a place for deep debate or even something as humble as convincing another person of your opinion on a local topic. It is and always will be an echo-chamber of individuals promoting and hawking their opinions while seeking out fellow users who will either confirm them or be used as a tool to prop them up. I know this because I have used my own Twitter account for this very purpose and I have been the tool of a great many proppings up. It may very well be a reason why you are even able to read this newsletter today and are aware of who I even am for good or bad.
There is something especially rotten in the political discourse that shapes the contours of local government in Victoria. This is a rot that does not know left or right and does not frankly care. And almost every one of us is guilty of taking it on at least once in our time around the scene. It is the natural course of Twitter taken to a most damaging extreme. It is faceless/nameless accounts with not-so witty barbs hidden in lame sub-tweets alongside baited reflections on important local topics and out-of-town user swarms over the same worn out issues drawn along the same worn out straw manned political lines. It is practiced as an art by users on both sides of the local political spectrum and it impacts everything, even those who are wise enough to try and stay away. And it has sucked the joy out of my experience and has made me a generally bitter and mean person around the site itself. I have come to regret this and resent myself for allowing the site and some unmentioned accounts who have become terribly obsessed with me to put me into such a state while lashing out at people.
I am a firm believer in joy coming from a person being in full alignment with their own natural environment. This is a core tenant of stoic teaching which proceeds to inform individuals to accept the nastiness and ignorance of the world for what it is because at the end of the day all you yourself have control over is how you decide to respond and internalize these events for better or worse. When we can accept them for what they are, simply a part of the natural world, we can align our self with an objective reality and find true and lasting joy. That is at the very least how I have come to find joy through some of the most trying and difficult times of my life. It is how I will continue to deal and manage these moments that are sure to come in the future. With regard to my social media account and engagement in local politics I have failed to meet this high standard which I have set for myself. I am sorry for that and it must be corrected.
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I may never be able to fix the rot which has set within our local governance discourse but I can certainly refuse to participate in it myself. I can see my own actions for what they are, what they have become and I can decide to change my ways. And that is what I am doing. I am moving away from the account, from Twitter, from engaging directly with individuals on that social media site. And I am moving away from the rot not just because I do not wish to participate but also because I do not like who I have become because of the rot itself.
But that does not mean I am going away. Not that easily my friends. This city means too much to me. You all mean too much to me.
I cannot fix this rot alone. And I refuse to partake in it myself. Which leaves me no option but to focus solely on my writing and longer-form reflections on local politics and governance in our city. And that is exactly what I intend to do right here at The Municipal Fly. It is how I will correct my own personal deficiency which has cropped up in my behaviour on Twitter as of late and it is how I will maturely move forward for the better through this particular moment. This is why I will write.
Yes, Twitter (X ) is a cesspool.
Thanks for this Eric, well said.