A gag in my mouth- placed on MUTE

It's been a while since I've blogged. There's a reason for that.

While I have an opinion - which, yes, are like assholes, since everyone has one, I have chosen to bite my tongue. I am aware in this polarized country that you cannot please everyone.

No doubt, some of the novels I wrote with frustration about life, have turned some off. That's okay. It has to be. Writer, artists, and musicians, however, owe it to society to speak. To not be mute. I've allowed my characters some leeway, but rarely myself.

Many of us have several social media accounts ranging from a handful to a dozen, in which we try to promote our work, engage fans, sell, make a living...

So perhaps some of us outspoken critics of - well- everything- have tried before and been shut down.

The new trolling/feeding frenzy has put more than just myself off of letting go of steam. Last night on an HBO show I watch with regularity, the host talked about how some individuals are being silenced. Not by the media, not by authoritarianism, but by swarming comments, which are like angry wasps. It's just not worth the aggro.

If you so much as side with one opinion or the other, sure enough, you will be roasted on a spit.

It's happened to so many, so often, it makes me cringe.

So? I shut up. I know for a fact, I'm not the only one.

Perhaps I once did. Maybe I spouted BS and tried to make my mindset known. No longer- or should I say rarely, since I do perk up to some posts. If you want to know me well, read my work. That's me. All over.

Particularly Mark in my Action! Series. In those books I can vent, I can be slightly more at ease to say what I think, through Mark as my filter.
It has come to this. Many of us have been gagged. If one day, I no longer rely on book sales to pay my bills, and I no longer care about, well- anything, then there is a likely chance I will speak what I think. But, not until then.

Gone are the days of putting carefree thoughts in a public forum, gone are the days of gentle discourse, gone are the days of calm discussion. Whether the conflict is real, from actual people, or bots or trolls, it's an issue many of us think about before we make a comment. I've gone so far as to type it, and say, nope. And delete it.

Opinions, like assholes, either stink or can be kind of nice. Lately, in a world full of anger and division, we are more likely to stay silent for fear of that nasty hole.

And I have become silent- in public on social media. If you want my opinion, ask- though I don't see the point. Anyone who knows me, already knows exactly what I think. No surprises there. What is horrible for many of us? We've had our tongues forcibly removed.

We're on mute.
Welcome to our future.

I hope it becomes our past.

Be careful out there, it's a scary friggin world.


If you want to know what I really think, get ready for my upcoming release, LOVING STAN coming at the end of November.

You can find blurbs for all the Action! Series books, as well as all of my other titles at http://www.authorgahauser.com/