Barometers of Bile

 There are two people on Facebook, one British, one Indian, whom I treat as barometers of bile. The former  is a racist, sexist pro-Brexit Tory voter, and the latter is a casteist, sexist Modi supporter. The first one I don't know personally. He did his PhD in the same department as me but was a part-timer, so we never met. When I looked him up online, as one does, I discovered he was a hard-core Tory. The second one is an acquaintance from school. I am filled with nger whenever I visit their Facebook pages, but like a moth to a flame, I keep going back. A right-winger's social media feed is a scary but fascinating sight, a seamless combination of gullibility and hate. These two are my barometers of bile. They are representative of how the average lumpen rightwinger who is not politically active thinks. If they turn against their leaders, I will no the right-wing project is faltering. Of course, that is the optimist in me talking.