So I changed my Religious preference on Facebook to Humanism. It published a little blurb on my wall about it...
It was a bit of a rush pushing the button to publish it.
I was prepared for the worst.
AND...
NOTHING!
I did lose 1 friend over the weekend, but I don't know who or why, or even if I lost them, or it's just a glitch in the Facebook Universe.
It appears I was just far more paranoid than I needed to be.
Of course it still may hit the fan, but I'm getting more an more comfortable with the idea, that if those who don't like the new, more honest me are offended, they're really not worth my time.
Oh - and I just got back from a weekend in Vegas. Brutal, brutal triathlon, but I'll resume normal blogging activities soon.
Ditto. I changed mine from Catholics to Ignostic Humanist ... and zilch. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteUnless you're uber nosey, I don't think people really notice small changes on others peoples profiles... Unless you're right there when it happens chances are it gets lost in a mass of status updates.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of why, I'm kind of relieved, although I do feel a little let down by the absence of any drama.
I have 3 TBM friends on FB (out of about 200.) I've got BYU as my alma mater and "agnostic" as my religious preference. -- Never heard anything about that. However, last March when I linked to a post on my blog about my husband's birthday, I got a scathing message from one of my TBM friends. The post did little more than mention that my husband grew up Mormon, then left the church. Nevertheless, she called me bitter, uneducated, a liar, etc. She didn't unfriend me though! (Guess she's one of those liberal Mormons.)
ReplyDeleteSometimes these glitches are really people deactivating their account for whatever reason. I have had a few friends disappear off Facebook for a few months and then return suddenly. I'm getting to the point now that I can't keep track of who my friends are. It happened some time when I got to around 280 or so. I just couldn't keep tabs every time the numbers would flap around from 280 to 281 to 283 to 280 to 282 etc. over the course of a few days or weeks.
ReplyDeleteMost of the unfriendings I got where last year when many of the TBM friends and family just happen to parse my profile and find things that were critical of the church or if they just happened to be on when I posted some pro-gay thing.
It seems to have calmed down a lot. But I think that's mostly because those that are still on there don't ever bother looking at other profiles. I look at their profile and they don't even appear to hang out on FB at all. Something I think I could consider doing.
@Donna, I have a family member who went after me a year or two back after I posted something humorous on Gay Marriage. It was actually funny, because I said something about not following leaders blindly, which she took as me accusing her of being a sheep, and then a day later after much ado about nothing, she informed me that I had made covenants and just needed to obey my leaders.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, she and my mother seem to have kind of a rivalry going, and since my mother and I are not longer speaking (It's a good thing, believe me!!), I think this family members desperately wants to prove that she can keep me as a 'friend' she's stayed out of stuff since, but everytime I post something controversial, she comments on something else. It's funny to watch.
@TGD - I've got a real diverse bunch out there. TBM's I've know all over the world, and from my mission. And then all the non-LDS friends I grew up with from several places. I actually don't talk to many of them much. I think most of my back and forth on Facebook are people from my tri-club, or folks I've met through this blog.
You're probably right with the account deactivation and activation.
Perhaps it’s because people don’t see the change as a change of your religious status. Humanism isn’t a ‘religion’ as such, it’s a philosophy, a cultural and intellectual movement ;)
ReplyDeleteOr, perhaps as you noted, a small status change may go unnoticed.
It's only appears as a change in Religous Views and provides a link back to the profile. It doesn't say what it was.
ReplyDeleteAt the risk of getting technical, I think it's that way because it's on open text field and not something that is selectable like relationships status.
TGD - I suspect you may be right.
ReplyDeleteMouse - True, but Mormons are a unique breed. Any kind of philosophy change would freak them out. Hell, you can't even openly vote or support a political candidate from anything other than the Republican party without whispers and questions being asked - at least not in Utah.
Of course that said, they're usually too timid to actually ask you about it, they just resort to gossiping and backbiting behind your back.
It's the Mormon way!
Wear a pink shirt to work one day - freak them right out :)
ReplyDeleteYah, Koda. Sometimes people can be overly sensitive to others' religious statements - no matter how small or large those statements may be. I've had 'Humanist' on my FB page from the beginning and no one has batted an eyelid. But that's b/c most friends suspect I am a bit strange anyway.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ms Mouse re wearing a pink shirt to work!!
Sorry... been behind on your blog. I'm not surprised, to tell you the truth. I think this kind of update gets lost in the shuffle especially if, as I do, folks pay more attention the Status Updates feed rather than the full news feed. I miss a lot of pics and links that way but I care less about them. I usually go in and look on someone's wall if they post a good status update and, of course, check in regularly as I can with close friends. It may take some time to make it through the grapevine.
ReplyDelete