To preface this, I’m genuinely okay. I don’t write any of this for pity; I simply felt that my observation on humanity in the light of extreme partisanship was worth adding to my collection here. And maybe seeing the impact of your words will cause you to think before typing comments.

Running for school board has already been an adventure.

I’ve been accused of misleading the voters by being on both the Republican and Democratic ballots. It’s a nonpartisan position, so we are supposed to be on both ballots.

I’ve become the obsession of a local far-right blogger (whose reputation is not stellar, and this has admittedly made us a little nervous for our safety).

His choice of inflammatory language to describe me has accomplished exactly what he hoped: anger in the comment sections, which leads to more clicks and more money for him.

What’s more confusing is that some of the posts he chooses to share about me are some of my proudest moments, my greatest accomplishments (like being in TIME Magazine recently). But then he posts things like what I will show below, intentionally making me sound questionable.

I have no idea what his motive is, but I don’t trust it. And I don’t trust him.

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As much as I really wish this guy and his followers would stop harassing me, it is pretty amazing how this journey has proven my point about partisanship being blinding.

The very thing I have blogged about for years now can be seen in the comments of each of these posts.

It can be seen in how he chose to word his blog post about me (I won’t link to it – it doesn’t deserve the clicks/money – see screenshots below) and the inflammatory language he used:

• Calling me a “former Republican,” which I am, but he knew it would inflame his readers to see the word former.
• Saying I ran as a Democrat (which I didn’t, but even if I did, Democrats are NOT evil).
• Mentioning that I’m from California (you know, the land of crazy liberals according to MAGA). We’re beyond redemption, haha.
• Pulling quotes entirely out of context from some of my most thoughtful blogs.
• Calling me an “activist” and saying I have “extreme” opinions (LOL)

You can see his blog post below in screenshots:

The effects of extreme partisanship can be seen in the quotes he chose to pull from my blog (screenshots above, though the post linked to actual posts on my blog) that are entirely out of context.

Ironically, if people would read the entire posts to which he linked, they would learn so much about me and would be surprised that the posts have nothing to do with the quotes he pulled.

The comments are uninformed, mean-spirited, and I’m being criticized for things I’ve never done .

Here are a few examples (there are more than 200 comments on his various posts on Facebook about me, so I didn’t take the time to screenshot them all):

I was called a “dude” (and not in the California slang way) by two commenters today. Intelligent responses abound on social media.

It was hardest to not respond to those telling me that the ACHDNC was a “money pit” and my Newborn Screening work is meaningless (LOL).

What I’m trying to illustrate is the freedom people feel to say whatever they want online, forgetting that a human being is reading these words. And it often is a result of being blinded by partisanship.

They allow the darkness of their hearts to show up on social media, forgetting that what they say is going to be visible forever, especially on public pages like the one that keeps posting about me (which is why I did not redact their names).

They forget that someone’s reputation is being harmed by this type of language and that their words can put someone in physical danger.

They forget that they often have scripture in their bio and claim to be religious, and instead treat someone so hatefully. I don’t think that’s what loving your neighbor is supposed to look like.

How would your friends and loved ones think about you treating someone this way?

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I don’t post this for pity at all. I have thick skin. I post it to illustrate the point I’ve been trying to make for years because it’s been fascinating to watch. And I hope that this illustrates the point I’ve been trying to make for years and years:

Partisanship blinds us to reality,
to humanity, to kindness.

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One of the many reasons that extreme partisanship is dangerous is that it leads you to dehumanize others.

It then becomes easy to see them as a label rather than a human being with a complex story that has led them to where they are today and how they see the world.

It makes it easy to call people names and make accusations online without caring that a human being can see your words.

It makes it easy to be misled.

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Believe it or not, I’m not crazy for becoming nonpartisan and rejecting the idea that a party should tell me what to think and what to believe. I’m more at peace than ever before, and I love my neighbors, regardless of the letter of their political affiliation.

Bottom line: Remember that people can see how you treat others online. Jesus would not call people names in the comment section just because they see things differently.