Satire: Popular X Account ExmoCringe Expresses Hatred By Quoting Exmos

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Popular X Account ExmoCringe Expresses Hatred By Quoting Exmos

by Mike Norton

I am really concerned about the health and safety of people, I mean, except for members of the Church of Jesus Christ, who I would likely assault if I ever met them...

So, one of our favorite and most poetic accounts was discussing her frustrations after abandoning her marriage and covenants, which was a powerful message... but then, a popular X account, @ExmoCringe, decided to twist her words into hate speech.

ExmoCringe - get this - took a screenshot of the post, and then posted it.  I can't even fathom the amount of hatred that a person has to have in order to do this!

And I know some people are saying that she shouldn't have posted in publicly on the internet if she didn't want reactions... but this is different!  It's not free speech, it's hate speech... Because... I HATE EXMO CRINGE!

Anyway, I just want to let all my exmo friends know that they need to be careful... people might twist your words by sharing them exactly as you did...  Stay safe!

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Satire: Let's talk about Children in the LDS Church

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By Dr. Julie Hanks

Previously, I posted about women in the LDS church on Facebook.  I opened by reminding everyone that my views are often misrepresented as men vs. women.  I then thoroughly refuted that by contrasting how we look at men vs. how we look at women.  Fortunately, most of my followers were able to ignore the thick envy that guided my post... so I decided to make a followup post about children in the LDS church along the same lines.

First off, (in case you were wondering) I'm still going to avoid referring to the church by its official name, while reminding you to be sensitive to the language you use... because, President Nelson was only a heart surgeon; I'm the therapist!

Second, I notice that there are few children represented in General Conference talks.  In fact, it is incredibly rare to see anyone younger than 30 speak.  Is it because of our subconscious hatred of children?  You might not think so, but yes, it definitely is.

I also have noticed how few children are in decision making councils in the church.  Sure, leaders say they love children, but unless you let some one make all policy decisions for you, do you actually love them?

Along the same lines, I want to encourage church leaders to do more of what I want... because that's the sign of a church led by God.

As a church, we can do more!  We can do better!  Because while members of the church try to follow Christ and his Apostles today, together, we can inspire them to follow social media influencers instead. (Remember to like and share this post!)

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Satire: Point Counter-Point on how to treat people who disagree with us

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Point: We should be tolerant of people who disagree with us (Perspective presented by Bishop Moss, an ecclesiastical leader and progressive social media activist)

Not everyone has the same preferences, opinions, or orientations... And that's OK.

I was talking to a guy who uses an anonymous account on twitter, which is understandable because of his unpopular stance... You see, he is a practicing homosexual.

Certainly, this type of activity goes against everything that my faith, that the prophets, that the apostles, that the scriptures, and that Jesus himself taught regarding marriage.  In spite of this, I feel compelled to speak up in defense of this individual.  His feelings are important, and he is a real person, in spite of the way he hides behind a clever alternative nickname and smiling picture on social media.

Jesus said to love our neighbors, so doesn't this count?

What's important is that we embrace the things that make us different than us, because we are all children of God, and we can all try harder to be like him.

Even those who don't share my faith should feel loved and welcomed for who they are, for as long as they seek to associate with me.  And even if they reject every teaching of my church, I can't imagine not forgiving them or wishing them anything but happiness.


Counter-Point: We should relentlessly attack people who disagree with us (Another perspective presented by Bishop Moss, the same guy who gave the point)

Not everyone has the same preferences, opinions, or orientations... And that's NOT OK.

I was talking to a guy who uses an anonymous account on twitter, which is inexcusable because of his unpopular stance... You see, he thinks that it's OK to be modest.

Certainly this type of activity is in line with everything that my faith, that the prophets, that the apostles, that the scriptures, and that Jesus himself taught regarding how we should present ourselves.  In spite of this, I feel compelled to speak up and mercilessly and repeatedly berate and condemn this individual.  His feelings don't matter, because he's not even a real person; he's using a dumb fake name stupid Lego figure picture on social media.

Jesus said to love our neighbors, but he's not very neighborly, so he doesn't count.

What's important is that we ridicule anyone who has views that are different than progressives, because even though we are all children of God, some of us are more like him than others.

Even those who share my faith should be exposed and humiliated for who they are, for as long as they seek to promote principles that I like to ignore.  And even if they apologize for defending legitimate teachings of my church, I can't imagine forgiving them or wishing them anything but hellfire.

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Authenticity and social media

I enjoy using social media.  I regularly check Facebook, and although I rarely tweet anything, I follow a number of individuals and personalities on Twitter.  There are a number of blogs I regularly read.  Of course, as wonderful as some sources of news and information can be on the internet, I know enough to avoid some of the dark corners where the ugliness of humanity is on display...

Perhaps the experience of seeing how cruel people can be in the comments below videos and news articles made something I read from Elder Quentin L Cook's Facebook shocking to me.  He said this:

Elder David A. Bednar recently cautioned members to be authentic in the use of social media. A prominent thought leader, Arthur C. Brooks, has emphasized this point. He observes that when using social media, we tend to broadcast the smiling details of our lives but not the hard times at school or work. We portray an incomplete life—sometimes in a self-aggrandizing or fake way. We share this life, and then we consume the “almost exclusively … fake lives of [our] social media ‘friends.’” Brooks asserts, “How could it not make you feel worse to spend part of your time pretending to be happier than you are, and the other part of your time seeing how much happier others seem to be than you?”

At first glance, it almost seemed like he was advocating using social media to whine.  Don't try to be positive... be yourself... right?  And if you are authentically a disagreeable individual who derives pleasure from provocation, then don't pretend to be nice, because that's not authentic.  If you are the type of individual who secretly indulges in graphic depictions of sex and/or violence, then don't pretend you are only online to read the Bible... right?  Be true to yourself.  Be authentic.  Right?

On the other hand... Quentin L Cook is a prominent religious leader.  He can't be advocating the kind of comments on YouTube that use the F-bomb in every part of speech except an article and a pronoun... can he?  The invitation to authenticity can't mean an invitation to express hatred and vitriol from the comfort of the computer desk... right?  He's not excusing people harassing one another because they authentically want to...  Of course not.

The point is "we tend to broadcast the smiling details of our lives but not the hard times at school or work."

So to apply this, imagine an individual is having a difficult day at work.  Because they are short-handed, this person is required to do more work than normal, but still has pressure to appear positive when dealing with impatient and unhappy customers.  Under this pressure, the person makes a small mistake, and the supervisor has to come and assist in correcting it.  The supervisor has a frustrated tone as they remind the person of the correct procedure, adding to the frustration of the day.  After the workday is over, they come home to their computer and go to Facebook.  Here they see advice telling them to "be authentic" in the use of social media, and not just "broadcast the smiling details" of life.  They decide to write a big status indicating that their boss is a jerk for overworking them without increasing their pay, and that they were a jerk for handling a minor mistake.  Unfortunately for this individual, they have forgotten that their boss followed them on Facebook.  The boss posts a scathing reply and indicating how much pressure they were under, and how costly their mistake was.  The individual is then invited to turn in their supplies and find another job.

While I don't personally know anyone who has dealt with it to that extreme, I do know people that have experienced negative consequences for using what seemed to be authenticity regarding their employment or schooling.

Not only online, but in many situations, religious standards ask disciples not to be true to themselves, but rather to discipline themselves.  Consider the words of Alma to his son Corianton:

Now my son, I would that ye should repent and forsake your sins, and go no more after the lusts of your eyes, but cross yourself in all these things; for except ye do this ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God. Oh, remember, and take it upon you, and cross yourself in these things. (Alma 39:9)

Consider also the words in the book of Matthew:

Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.  (Matthew 16:24-25)

The goal behind every Christian faith should always be to make bad men good, and to make good men better... not to make men comfortable with how they currently are.

So how do the two ideas become reconciled?

The answer involves understanding the link between what Elder Cook described as "authenticity" and the word honesty.

The same dilemma is sometimes mocked in social media posts where a girlfriend approaches her boyfriend in some unflattering outfit and asks if it makes her look "fat."  If he answers honestly, even if he is as polite as he can be, the girlfriend takes offense.  If he tells her that it does not, he is being dishonest.  And anymore, if he dodges the question, the girlfriend takes it as a yes, and takes offense.  How does a person be "authentic" while still "denying himself"?  How can a person be honest and kind?

Let me suggest that the request to be authentic is not a suggestion to air dirty laundry.  It's not to "vent" or "lash out" or be "passive aggressive" toward people that seem irritating.  When prophets and scriptures counsel men to be honest, they do not mean to be cruel.  Latter Day Saints, as all Christians, ought to embrace that which is "virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy." (Art of Faith 1:13)  The invitation to be authentic does not mean to become cynical or pessimistic
either.

Being authentic means attempting to avoid hypocrisy.  Practicing what we preach is vital to religious worship.  In other words... continue to broadcast the smiling details of your life AND make sure you smile in life.  Make a smiley-face emoji, but also try to make your face smile.

Being authentic also applies to how you treat others.  If you have "friends" online... try and be actually friendly to them.  If you disagree with someone, be civil, and resist the urge to stir up contention.

Don't pretend to be happy... become happy.  Don't pretend to have faith... exercise faith.  Don't pretend to be better than you are... but in a deliberate, diligent, and authentic manner, and in social media as well as every other aspect of life... become like Christ.  Because Christ was the ultimate example of being the best.