The Terror of Disagreement

Day 4, Wednesday 21st March 2018

Utter terror engulfed me. My hands were shaking and fear terrorised every corner of my soul. There was was a swelling sense of anxiety in my stomach, every movement became ruled by nerves, I was unable to focus on any given task, flitting with a short attention span from one task to another. Absolute distraction dominated my existence and for a short while, my life was completely overshadowed by fear of what would come next.

It would be natural to assume that such an extreme reaction must have been precipitated by a horrific piece of news, or the impending results of a life-changing medical test. Maybe the outcome of a high-stakes job interview were due at any moment or my lottery numbers just came up?

None of these were true, the symptoms that I describe are the exact result of one thing alone.

Disagreeing with someone on Twitter.

Yep.

Twitter is, of course, a hotbed of disagreement and polkitical distemper, perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to it. However, I rarely disagree with anyone online and beyond that, I rarely disagree with anyone in real life. I’m generally seen as that easy-going one who doesn’t cause a fuss. But deep down inside lies a fear of confrontation which rules me.

Directly stating an opposing position to someone feels life-threateningly scary to me. After posting my contrary statement on Twitter (which was not at all derogatory or blaming) I…