Fights, Foolishness, And Fear

It Is Getting Rough Out There

We live in strange times. I have been working as an operational meteorologist for 44 years now (and I’m just getting started)… so producing weather products and watching how people respond is nothing new to me.

When I first went on television to forecast the weather in the summer of 1978, there was no social media and no smart phones. Most reaction to my forecasts came in via a good ole fashioned phone call, or “snail mail”. Some were good, some bad, but all were sent with decency and propriety. There was some very constructive criticism that made me better. I presented the weather on TV weeknights at 6:00 and 10:00. That was it.

So, here we are in the summer of 2022. My products and services are spread out across a very diverse array of platforms. Commercial TV and radio. Blogs, smart speakers, the web, apps, and of course, social media. Most days I am at it from 4:00 a.m. until midnight; there is very little sleep.

On Facebook as of the date of this post, I have 884,017 accounts (I assume most are real people) that follow me. My Twitter account has 474,554 followers. Over on Instagram, the count is 229,260. TikTok is up to 107.7K.

I don’t share these numbers trying to impress anyone. But understand I have the potential to reach a large, diverse audience on the “socials” daily. I welcome all followers, including…

Nice people
Mean people
Christians (like me)
Others of different faiths
Those with no faith
Left-wingers
Right-wingers
No-wingers (like me)
All ethnicities
Those of any sexual orientation
Jabronis
Knuckleheads
Clowns
Boneheads

We might disagree on certain things, but I still want you to be my friend. I tend to look for the things that bond us together, instead of the things that tear us apart.

What saddens me is the deterioration of those that respond and comment to my posts, mainly on Facebook. Quite frankly, it has become a cesspool.

FIGHTS

Most of my posts involve weather in Alabama and the Deep South. Not always, but that is generally the case. Occasionally I posted information from law enforcement when they need to reach a large audience, and other odds and ends like big crashes on major highways. Nothing controversial.

But now after so many simple weather posts, keyboard warriors go on the attack. These are mostly right wing and left wing political extremists; they start fighting about Biden, Trump, climate, the Supreme Court, and other hot button topics of the day. All of this has absolutely nothing to do with my weather post.

If you want to fight, fine. But take it out in the parking lot, or keep it on your own Facebook profile. Not mine. Please.

The fights often lead to personal attacks. The keyboard warriors attack each other, then they attack me. Just remember, you can’t hurt my feelings because I have no feelings left to hurt.

I hate to block people on social platforms. It is going totally nuclear. But, sometimes I have no choice. Personal attacks, potty mouth language, daily trolls have to go. I’m sorry.

FOOLISHNESS

I am quite frankly horrified to see what people are pushing in the comment section of my posts. Some honestly believe…

The world is flat
Weather has ceased to exist (everything is now climate, not weather)
The government controls the weather with “HAARP” and “Chemtrails”
I am being paid by the government to cover up their weather control

It was a sad day when climate became politicized. It is an interesting and important subject, but you won’t seeing me talking about it much due to the hate, anger, rage, and threats that follow. I am a meteorologist, not a climatologist, and it is my main job to mitigate loss of life during severe weather, especially tornadoes.

I wrote this essay over on Medium last summer, and it explains my position on climate.

The flat Earth and government control stuff is total foolishness. But you would be shocked at the number of people who buy into this stuff because of the YouTube videos they have been watching.

Every time I post a full disk satellite image that shows the entire planet, loons go on the loose within minutes.

FEAR

I do believe there is a subset of the population that wants to keep the general public in a constant state of fear, and they love to use weather in this narrative. Every time the weather gets hot in summer, it is a “heat emergency”. Every thunderstorm is a “life threatening situation”. All hurricanes are “bigger and stronger than ever before”.

Yes, on rare occasions, weather does become life threatening and the situation is an emergency. I know more about this than most. But, the constant hyperbolic languare used by so many national media outlets during somewhat routine weather events is tiring. People get sick of hearing it, and won’t pay attention when that real threat comes along.

If you are looking for fear mongers, I am not your guy. You find them all across YouTube, TikTok, and many national media channels and networks. I have always done my best to be a straight shooter, and I firmly believe people appreciate that.

The social media lunacy is very hard on our (meteorologists) mental health. Even an old, crusty guy like me. I must admit sometimes I simply step back and don’t look at Facebook post comments, although I love to engage with people and answer questions.

But, despite all of this, I still absolutely love my job, and having the ability to share weather across all of these platforms. I have been living the dream, and hope to continue doing this for a long time.

I will just have to hold my nose when it comes to some of the social media madness. I choose to be positive and believe there are more good people in the world today. Those that don’t want to get involved with fights, foolishness, and fear…