Welcome To the Age of Hate and Mistrust
Not long ago, you could trust your friends, colleagues, and neighbors regardless of their party affiliation or their opinions on anything
During the latter part of the pandemic, I drove up to a diner I liked and noticed they had Trump signs plastered everywhere.
That was fine.
Even though I'm a Democrat who voted for Biden, I recognize I live in Trump country and respect other's political views.
We're all Americans, right?
But as I approached the diner's front door, there was a hand-scribbled sign that read, "Only Trump Supports Welcome."
My heart started racing. What was I supposed to do?
Confront the manager?
Walk away?
Pretend I didn't read it?
I was working in a rural area and didn't want to lose one of the few diners around, so I gently told the waitress I felt offended - who knew me as a regular - and that I was not a Trump supporter and asked if I was supposed to leave.
She was aghast.
She told the manager who calmly, and respectfully, explained how furious he was that the election was “stolen” and that he agreed the sign was a bit extreme and would take it down but would not take down the dozens of other Trump banners and signs.
I thanked him for explaining things to me and I ate my lunch and never returned.
To be fair, when I worked in Orlando some diners had Biden signs up and perhaps Trump supporters didn't feel comfortable eating in those restaurants.
Imagine how angry and distrustful a small business owner must be to have no problem alienating half of their customer base - essentially cutting off their noses to spite their face.
Trust in everything is at an all-time low.
Spamming, trolling, scamming, catfishing, and email fraud are rampant.
If I hear another heartbreaking story - typically of an older man - who is scammed out of their life savings because when their phone rings the person on the other end says they're with the FBI, CIA, IRS, Amazon, Citibank, Wells Fargo, or simply sounds exactly like their granddaughter, who is hysterically begging them to send them bail money….I’m going to cry myself to sleep.
Truth is….I used to trust strangers.
Truth is….I used to answer calls from unidentified numbers.
Truth is….I used to respond to emails from official-looking institutions.
Truth is….if someone claimed they were calling me from the Sheriff’s office and said that I was about to be imminently arrested if I didn’t pay a bill I owed from 10 years ago….but…..if I immediately wired them the money, they’d let the whole thing go………..I WOULD HAVE WIRED THEM THE MONEY! And you probably would have too.
If it’s impossible to tell the difference between a legitimate phone call, email, text, or video, how are we supposed to know when something is legitimate?
If we can’t trust our texts, emails, or even conversations with our own family, how do we know when our kids or grandkids are in actual danger?
If artificially intelligent, deep fake, stories and videos are now indistinguishable from the truth, how can any court, anywhere, accept any evidence as legitimate?
How will we ever convict someone in a court of law if judges can’t tell whether the evidence is real or fabricated - including someone’s alibi?
How do you know if I’m real?
Are you certain I wrote this article?
This is typically where I try to take all the pessimism and scariness and offer some concrete reasons for optimism…but I cannot.
I will, though, offer some unsolicited advice.
BELIEVE NOTHING!
Be dubious of everything you read, see, hear, or experience.
Never, ever, ever answer a call you are not familiar with.
Yes, this means you will occasionally miss a legitimate call from your doctor, lawyer, lover, pastor, priest, rabbi, or family member…..but that’s infinitely better than being socially engineered into emptying your bank account.
The next time you’re at a family event, turn off and leave your smartphones in the house….gather your immediate relatives and walk outside to a remote location.
Write down a secret word on a sheet of paper (not while you’re still in the house but after you’ve safely walked away from any doorbell cameras or surveillance.)
DO NOT SAY THE CODE WORD OUT LOUD.
Simply show the piece of paper to your close relatives and ask them not to forget it…AND THAT THEY SHOULD NOT WRITE IT DOWN ANYWHERE.
This secret word can be used to verify your family members are your actual family members in case you’re not sure.
It also wouldn’t hurt to have a secret place where you could all meet in case the internet or the electrical grid goes down and you have no way of reaching your loved ones.
Paranoid a little, you’re probably shouting.
Maybe.
But when we lose the ability to agree on what is truthful, and what is not, on what is a legitimate text, email, or video, or even whether it’s our actual kids or grandkids calling us, perhaps a drop of paranoia is warranted.
Thank you Jon. I was almost scammed by an email from PayPal that seemed completely real. They said that my account was being charged $1000 for something I bought and if this was inaccurate, call this number to dispute. I frantically looked online for expenditures to my many credit cards and couldn't find this $1000 charge on any of them. They wanted me to call and give them my account information.. this was after I orderd 6 tickets to Madonna s concert in NY and paid with PAYPAL over $1700. The concert was postponed so I opted to get the refund for all 6 tickets, refunded through PayPal. ..crazy