The Notorious Opinion Machine

Until yesterday, I knew of only four other Norwegians living in Porto. Then I was introduced to two more on Facebook, so now I know six Norwegians, two of whom I haven't yet met in person. However, May 17 is coming up. That's Norway's national day, and our plan is to get together and celebrate with a lunch meal at a local restaurant, so we'll all meet in two weeks from now.

Curious to learn about the two I haven't met, I checked out their Facebook pages. One is a nurse at a local hospital, and married to a Portuguese guy. Her Facebook page is toned down and modest. Not much is revealed about her life or opinions. We have one of the other Norwegians in Porto as a mutual Facebook friend.

The other one, who happens to share the same given name as me, describes himself as notorious opinion machine. All his posts are about him and his opinion on things. But there's no indication why he's in Porto. The opinions that he shares, all fall into the mundane and conservative category. He's pro-vaccination, as a matter of course, and belittles anyone who's against the vaccine as a conspiracy nut.

Surprisingly, this guy and I have two mutual Facebook friends, both living in Norway. Not a single one of my four friends in Porto is listed as a mutual friend of his. Furthermore, the two friends we share in Norway are of the same conservative champagne-socialist kind as he seems to be. My first impression of the man is not exactly optimal.

I'm afraid this guy is going to dominate the lunch gathering with his bland and commonplace opinions, so I have to device a strategy to circumvent this. First of all, I'll have to resist the temptation to argue with him on any topic. I have to remain firm in my conviction that all things should be up to individual discretion and that my personal opinion is neither relevant nor interesting. In fact, I change my opinion so often that it would be meaningless to share it.

When it comes to the vaccine and the virus, I'll make no value statements about how things should or should not be. I might ask people if they've taken the vaccine, if they've travelled to Norway lately, or how their business have been affected. I might also mention my mother, if appropriate, and then in a toned down version so as not to come across as sensational.

If I end up seated near him, I might bring up the curious fact that we share the same given name, and that we have two mutual Facebook friends. If there's any comments related to my walking cane and dandy dress code, I'll stress the fashion aspect of it. I'll make no secret of my desire to be left alone when I'm out on my walks. I'm not going to shy away from practical day to day matters. In fact, that's the only type of discussions I'll engage in. Anything related to the common good, I'll strike down as irrelevant and boring. I'm not a solidarity kind of person. I don't give a damn about people beyond my circle of friends and relatives. However, I do care a great deal about the ones inside this circle.

With the right attitude, I'm sure the May 17 lunch will be a great success, even if my worst premonitions about my name-brother end up true. The trick is simply to keep party politics out of the conversation, and focus on practical day to day issues instead.

The more important lesson to draw from this is the dangers associated with Facebook as a platform. I'm sure this guy thinks himself fantastic, and his opinions beyond criticism. However, this type of posturing sends a terrible message to anyone who's even remotely inclined to see things differently. Our instinct is to avoid him. If he hopes to influence and enlighten others, he's missing the mark. No-one is influenced by him. Those who agree with him, nod politely without having learned anything, and those disagreeing with him are repelled and appalled. That's not how influence works.

Influence is achieved through subtle persuasion, and an appeal to curiosity. Loud proclamations must be done with sufficient ambiguity to attract curiosity from all sides. We must never tell people what they should do. We must never give others the impression that we want them to obey us. Rather, our goal should be to have them asking and figuring things out on their own.

This is why I'll never again post anything directly political on Facebook. All my posts will be subtly subversive instead. Nothing will be stated out loud. There will instead be a symbolism in the images that subtly references the flip side of things. May 17 is coming up. The fact that I'll be celebrating this in sunny and warm Porto, is in itself a subversive message. It tells people in Norway that Norway is not necessarily the best place to live, even if they've been told this ever since kindergarten.

Making plans for May 17