Unaccountable: (of a person, organization, or institution) not required or expected to justify actions or decisions; not responsible for results or consequences.
For everyone out there so worried about the unrestrained exercise of governmental authority in this country, I feel a little compelled to call out another arbitrary and unaccountable actor in many of our lives – Facebook. I’ve never been a fan of Facebook – opened an account many years ago but after playing around with it for awhile, I deleted it – the whole thing felt like a big time sink that offered little in return.
My decision to create a new account last December was driven mainly by a desire to get some additional exposure for this blog. Just about every article or tutorial on blogging recommends that you cross-post to social media sites. Interestingly enough, once I did create a new account and page as a destination for my blog posts, I actually found myself enjoying the chance to connect with family and friends. In learning how to use it as an outlet for my writing, I gained a better appreciation for what it offers as a personal channel.
What happened on Sunday night gave me cause to reconsider – again. I tend to check my account before calling it a night to see if anyone’s reacted to a post or to see what’s happening with friends and family. When I tried to do so last Sunday night, I received a message that Facebook had detected unusual activity related to my account and that it was under review. I was asked to submit a picture for purposes of verification and informed that they would contact me once the review had been conducted. I did so but on Monday, I received a second message saying that my account had been deactivated and that I should refer any questions to Facebook Help – no additional information or explanation provided. When I went to Facebook Help and referenced account deactivation, it recommended that I file an appeal. I did – twice. To their credit, someone did review those appeals and a decision was made to reactivate my account. Still – I found the entire process to be so very automated and arbitrary and unaccountable. You can’t help feeling judged and a little marginalized when a remote and unrestrained source of authority singles you out like that.
The only good thing that came out of the entire episode was a chance to step back from the blog – I chose not to post until my FB account was back up and running – and think a little about what I should move from The Shelf to The Nightstand. In retrospect, I’m thankful for the chance and I think I’ve put it to good use.
First, I did decide to go ahead and complete Ann Leckie’s “Imperial Radch” trilogy – I really didn’t want another unfinished series hanging around my neck – turned the last page of “Imperial Mercy” on Tuesday. It was a strong concluding volume to a really enjoyable series but I’ll save anything more for my next “On The Nightstand” post – plenty to write about there.
Once done, I went back to the Unbound Worlds article I posted last Sunday and made a couple of selections.
I downloaded the two books in the The Rook Files by Daniel O’Malley – “The Rook” and “Stiletto”. The summary on “The Rook” left me thinking it would be a fun, quick read and…if I’m going to get the 1st in the series – why not both.
I also decided to pick up “The Gone-Away World – there was a “Buckaroo Bonzai” / “Big Trouble In Little China” – two of my favorite all time B movies – aspect to the summary that convinced me to give it a try.
Finally, my wife and I went to see 12 Strong last Sunday and I saw the trailer for “Annihilation” – a book I’d always meant to read but haven’t yet gotten ’round to. I decided I was getting into now or never territory for that book if I wanted to experience it independent of any cinematic reinterpretation. Once I’d purchased “Annihilation”, I couldn’t help but pick up the other two volumes of “Southern Reach” – “Authority” & “Acceptance”.
Sometimes things happen for a reason – as disconcerting as it was – the deactivation of the FB account helped to put FB back in perspective – grudging acceptance based on limited use – and it gave me the chance to pick up some interesting new titles as I’m heading into a fairly heavy travel schedule – one that gives me some extra reading time. I call that a good ending.