[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by troutman

Thanks to Donald Trump, I blocked my uncle on Facebook today

https://winterized.org/2016/10/31/th...acebook-today/

If you’re one of those people who’s still confused about who Trump supporters are, let me help: They are my high school classmates — people who seemed liberal to me back then. They are my cousins – you might call a few of them rednecks. They are my mother, my father, and probably three of my four siblings. And yes, they mostly hail from rural, Red states. And I love them all. They are salt of the earth, hard-working, mostly Christian people who would do anything for me, and probably you.

But my decision to post news stories about Trump unleashed a fury I have not seen in them before. My uncle began incessantly posting wrinkly-faced, Hillary-bashing memes and “stories” on my timeline. When he started attacking my bleeding-heart liberal daughter, I pulled the plug on our Facebook friendship.

What struck me about his timeline attack were his sources: Places like Patriots Reborn, ClashDaily.com, The American Patriot, Conservative News Today, John Q. Logic, ViralLiberty.com and LibertyWriters.

And then there’s my mom. She began rebutting my posts with her own, with sources like Minuteman Militia, FreedomDaily.com and the Conservative Tribune. Now I don’t think she’s a regular reader of these “publications,” but they fulfilled her need for return fire.

I pay attention to sources, because I’ve been a journalist covering all kinds of government for about 25 years. I know the source of information is crucial. If your source cannot be trusted, your story can’t be trusted.

And I think this, right here, is a big part of what has gotten Trump where he is. As the media landscape eroded with the arrival of the Internet, all kinds of questionable websites and “news outlets” have cropped up. FOX News paved the way with its “fair and balanced” (wink, wink) reporting – which my dad listens to non-stop and recites.

No longer do people just watch the evening news and read the daily newspaper to get their news; they can pick and choose whatever kind of news matches their opinion.

Which is why I don’t want to go home for Thanksgiving this year – for the first time in my life. We are not a family that dreads Thanksgiving. We are not a family who fights. We’re a family who loves each other truly, madly, deeply.

But I know my father won’t be able to restrain himself from talking politics, no matter who wins the election, and a battle will ensue. This election has exposed a huge divide between us: They don’t trust journalists like me anymore. And I don’t think we can turn back the clock to a time when they did. Not in my family, and not in America.

http://www.thebrainwashingofmydad.com/