Ok, so before you roll your eyes at me thinking I'm here to nag and lecture you about how you act during the primary ... that's not what this is about. C'mon, if you know me at all you KNOW I'm the last person who should be telling anyone else to 'be nice.'
I'm not exactly rainbows and butterflies, I know. And honestly, we should be having robust debates and discussions about the candidates we like and don't like, we should be pushing one another to defend our choices, absolutely. Even if those debates get heated or curse-filled.
Again, if you know me at all you get what I'm saying here.
But at the end of the day, no matter what happens in this primary, no matter who gets the nod, we all must find a way to work together and beat Biden. Or whoever the Democrats decide to run (I'm not 100% convinced it will be Biden). So please, pretty please with sugar, sprinkles, hot fudge, whipped cream, and cherries on top, don't be the type of a-hole that people either can't or won't forgive for a heated debate or two.
And don't doxx people, ever.
EVER ever.
People seem to forget there is much more to doxxing than just finding the information. Especially those saying, 'C'mon, the info was public anyway, blah blah blah.' Even when the information is public, if you put it together in a way to harass or silence someone, to target them, to get them fired or even arrested, that's doxxing. It's not about the info, it's about what you do with that info. And if you find yourself pulling up someone's personal information intent on tormenting or harassing them because they made you mad on Twitter(X), you're an a-hole.
That's just the reality of it.
I say this as someone who was doxxed and tormented in 2015 by Trump supporters. Anyone who knows or follows me KNOWS I was no fan of Trump in 2015/16. This group of people decided to screenshot tweets of mine out of context, plaster my personal information all over the place, write hate blogs filled with defamation and lies, called my work, and even called Child Protection Services on me claiming I was ignoring my infant child to be on Twitter.
Except, of course, I didn't have an infant child but that's another story. It was a horrific experience - and not because it was hard to find me or that the information they were sharing was private, but because they were using it as a way to terrorize me. To punish me for not being what they wanted me to be or saying the things they wanted me to say. It was about silencing me ... and it worked. I left Twitter for nearly four months. Of course, eventually, I came back (and here I am), but it was an experience I wouldn't wish on my greatest enemy. The knowledge that someone who doesn't really know you hates you enough to try and ruin your life ... over a tweet.
Over a politician.
Over a primary.
So yes, it's primary season and we're going to fight and get angry and might even wish a pox or two on someone's house, but please, don't doxx people.
Don't be an a-hole.