Politics and Gear – Never shall the two meet. That’s what I usually like to say here on the site. This blog is not the blog for discussing politics. But today, I wanted to touch upon it slightly. Please bear with me.
For most of the month of January, I’ve been taking a Facebook hiatus. Which is especially hard since I still have to maintain the Effects Bay Facebook Page, but I’ve been avoiding my feed and resisting the urge to view profiles, respond to likes, mentions or tags. And for good reason. I’m not sure if you feel the same way – I don’t care about your political leaning, and I don’t want to talk about mine – but it can be exhausting.
Facebook in the past was a good mix of funny, family, politics, music and gear. Posts that made me reflect, posts that made me angry (or just annoyed) or posts that would totally hilarious. Those days seem to be over. Post after post after post are about politics, political views, real news, fake news. I understand taking positions. This is important. I have my stances. I have my beliefs. I gather my information from various sources and I’m still very much in touch with the events of our nation and of the world. But lately, I feel exhausted.
What has helped me get through this.. is what keeps me going here. Gear. It sounds pretty stupid, but gear talk, is fun talk. It’s nice to talk to gear. It’s nice to see people (all people) get excited about things together. Being at NAMM and talking to various friends/strangers from all parts of the world, got me thinking. It’s easy to be trapped with tunnel vision, so I’m glad we have gear to talk about.
So, I wanted to thank you guys that read this blog. Those of you that comment, or send me emails or comment on EB FB page. Thanks for making it a fun place for me as well.
I don’t know why, but I wanted to get that off my chest. Let me know how you feel by commenting below! Thanks!
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7 years ago
I feel politics very deeply, and I am very comfortable with debate, argument and even confrontation. However, I’m just a dude- and I really do think everybody has value- even people who don’t think I have very much value, myself. I dig music, and I dig noise, and I dig electronics, so, of course I dig gear. So, I’ll engage with people on whatever level they’re on. If gear is what fires you up, I’ll talk gear. If you’re into politics, I’ll engage you in that talk. If you’re into Art, same thing. If you’re into geology, I’ll talk about rocks- you set the tone, I’ll play along. Why not? We get this time, let’s use it.
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7 years ago
Hank, you are the reason that this is a safe harbor for those of us who tire quickly with the drama surrounding political dialog. Of course, here in the US, every four years we are inflicted with a case of ED, aka Electile Dysfunction. Then the situation is more grating to one’s nerves.
Now as ideal as you’re comment curation may be, it’s possible for politics to enter the scenario. How? Tone wood is Gospel Truth to some and anathema to others. The same holds true for True Bypass vs a quality Designed Line Buffet.
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7 years ago
Honestly, I deleted my Facebook account. That was way before the american presidential election. I’m from Brazil and we had an election 2 years ago and it was pretty similar to what happened in the US. My friends started arguing violently on facebook, some stopped talking to each other. One of my best friends was fired from his band of 20 years because of an argument on politics. I decided to just delete my social media and focus on real life relationships. I miss it a bit but it’s not worth the headache anymore. I do love coming to blogs like this one, where people focus on constructive activities like making music or… creating something, gear, art, whatever. Love the blog, by the way. I’ve learned a lot about gear reading your post. I’m preparing a few pics of my pedalboard to submit to the pedal line friday soon. Thanks a lot!
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7 years ago
I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I tried to make this point on another gear site. They had posted an article listing the best products at NAMM and included one for purely political reasons. They said not one word about the sound or features of the product but wrote only about the builder donating profits to a certain political agenda. I tried to leave a comment politely saying that I and may others like to read about gear as a respite from such things but my comment was censored by the site management.
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7 years ago
Thanks for writing this blog post and sharing your thoughts with us. I’m def on the same page in that frequently my escape from the vitriol and drama has been to grab a guitar, plug it into a bunch of pedals, and crank the amp up! I’m thankful for the ability to lose myself in the home spun musical adventures that my hands and mind work together to create. Always feel refreshed after taking a break from the ‘real world’. Thanks for all the work you do to keep the site running. Cheers!
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