Politics and Twitter

Hello, my friends,

I was all set to write a new post about the War on Women, but I was so mentally exhausted from constant research, little sleep and emotionally exhausted from what I've been researching that I decided to take a break this evening. So, I'm going to try something different for this post. No links, just words tonight.

So. Politics and Twitter. Now, in 2012, we are at a point where with a simple click of your mouse we have thousands of articles - true or not - at our fingertips. This, interestingly, makes this coming U.S. Election fairly important.

You see, even back in 2008, even with the information super-highway (Internet) being available, the majority of us relied on watching the news and word of mouth to get our information. Twitter was virtually non-existent, and nowhere near as many news programs had information readily available online.

Now, all you have to do is go on Twitter and almost anything you want to know is right there. From how to fix something, all the way up to Politics. All you have to do is "tweet" something, and nine times out of ten someone will respond. - With links to whatever it is you are searching for.

Now, I'm a relative Twitter newbie..I've only been on for a little bit. But in that little amount of time, Twitter has helped me immensely in my quest for information. Primarily The U.S. Election, the War on Women, and Gay Rights.

I have met some amazing people (names withheld for their protection) who have graciously allowed me to follow them, and have provided me with links, pictures, facts so I can write this blog to the best of my ability. I could not do this without them. (SHOUTOUT to you guys, You ROCK!)

Sometimes it can be hard to separate fact from fiction, reality from fantasy, especially online, but I've become quite good at being able to weed out the non-facts.

BUT...there is a dark side. Trolls, or people who vehemently or even violently disagree with what your personal beliefs are. I don't have a problem with disagreement, however these people take it as far as they can get away with..they will spam your news stream, they will try to trap you into a never ending argument where they just keep repeating themselves (because they know it will get to you), and some even resort to threats. I do try to be respectful of other people's beliefs. After all, I have no right to tell them what to believe in. Just like they don't have the right to tell me what to believe in. Terrible, isn't it, that some of us have ethics, others will do whatever it takes to send their hatred out into the world.

Take my twitter page as an example. I recently became a target for some trolls. Most were dealt with swiftly. (I do love that "block" button!), others weren't that easily deterred. I sent out a tweet to my Twitter pals, and they came to my rescue. They helped defend me, sent me notes to raise my spirits, giving me advice on how to deal with them. It really made me realize that even though some of us are countries apart, when it comes to fighting for our rights, it really doesn't matter where you are, what medium you choose, people WILL unite and work together, defending each other. And rarely have I seen any "in house" bickering or arguing or abuse among my fellow Suffragettes and Suffragents. Again, they are nothing short of amazing.

Where does Politics come into this? Well, When I first started on Twitter, I obviously had no followers. So, I sent out a couple of tweets into the cyber universe about the War on Women, and went about looking for like-minded people to follow. Within moments, I had tweets addressed to me, complete with links for everything I was looking for. It was easier to find the information I needed through Twitter, than it was to look up websites, read newspapers or even just go talk to someone.

Now, SOME of these politicians/lawmakers are aware of this..some of them are even erasing tweets in the hopes that people will forget them..Others, not so much. Which, infinitely, makes my job a hell of a lot easier, lol. Some politicians even parade their wives out and have them tweet things in the hopes of gaining more votes. Other politicians (or their handlers) use their Twitter to send out information they WANT people to see, knowing that it will reach thousands upon thousands in an instant.

Which brings me to my point. If you want an election to be won, do it on Twitter. If you want the word spread about the War on Women, bring it to Twitter. You'll get noticed, trust me.

And with that, my lovely friends, I leave you with my same old saying: You inspire me, you teach me, you make me aspire to be the best possible human being I can possibly be. And I thank you.

*On a side note, remember that the March for the War Against Women is coming up on April 28th! I have a previous post with the information!*

Please feel free to comment. All questions, suggestions and comments are welcome, because to truly be informed, you need information.

With the best of regards and respect,


An Ordinary Woman
April 22, 2012
*this letter can be shared, however I do not authorize any alterations.