Friday, October 9th was a
weird day. I woke up to the news
of President Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, which left me with a
positive, hopeful feeling. By the
end of the day, sadness and disappointment had consumed my spirit. Mean and nasty reactions ran amuck, from insipid news commentators to a
handful of “friends” in my
facebook world, and most of the insolent comments were directed not at the
Committee that honored our President, but at our President, as if he had applied
for the prize, pursued it on his own - absolutely absurd! I can't imagine what we - Americans -
must look like through the eyes of the citizens of other countries. So much hate and anger about what?
Really?! WHAT?!? That in ten months our President hasn't fixed the colossal
mess that he inherited? Death threats against Obama are up 400% over Bush. Bush - the President who created the
colossal mess! Bush - the
President who was on watch on 9/11!
Bush - the President who started a senseless war in Iraq where thousands
of American lives have been lost!
Sigh. It appears that many
Americans have chosen to consciously consume “Haterade” in excessive
quantities.
In September I had
deactivated my facebook account for three days. My temporary removal from facebook was mostly motivated by
someone who actually told me I might want to tone down my views….political
views, specifically. And this was
said to me after I had just experienced the most heinous assault on my
character, ever. A cruel, nasty
act committed by a vile subhuman whose sole intent was to hurt and defame
me. Sadly, this attack included
innocent people, which only intensified my pain. But that’s another story. I only mention it because it serves as one of two perfect examples
of the lack of civility and rise of maliciousness in just my world. The second example was the "tone down" suggestion which took place while I was in the debilitating, emotionally
low state of spirit and mind the subhuman caused. A favorite quote of David’s
is “timing makes champions”.
In this case, timing created no champion, au contraire, the timing of
this suggestion was like a pound of salt in my wound. Would "kick 'em when they're down" be the antithesis quote for “timing makes
champions”?
My facebook wall is like
my home. Imagine coming into my home and telling me to tone down my views.
Actually, the tone down comment was in my home! Civility, respect, compassion and sensitivity are becoming
ghosts of our culture, vague memories of a more considerate time. Will future generations say, “Remember
when....." or "What does respect mean?”
Facebook provides a
different forum to express my interests/passions - from Rachel to politics to
funny/sentimental videos. It allows a certain level of interaction that a blog
doesn’t. I am not intentionally
trying to offend anyone, but my facebook wall is my home, my space, my utopia. I don't have a million viewers or even thousands of readers. I have 166 friends and many are just names on my "friends list", people who rarely or never interact. (Yeah, what's that about? Yet another post.) Are all my posts and links of a pleasant and sweet nature? No, and if they were, my friends (not "friends") would think my page had been hacked by a Disney princess. But I also don't post blatant lies and hateful propaganda. Are my opinions often caustic? You betcha, but, again, it's my wall. However, I won't be rude on someone else's wall and appreciate the same consideration. For those who don’t like what I say or
post, just select the "Hide" option, and voila, your News Feed
becomes Leslie-free. I use that
option frequently; my “Hide” list is a long one. Hiding people makes life less frustrating. The reality
of facebook is it brings people into your virtual home that you might not
necessarily invite into your real home. You know those people, they are the
ones you're always happy to see and chat with briefly when you run into them at
the grocery store or on the street. But there's an unspoken understanding that
anything more than a friendly conversation in the produce section is not of
interest to either of you. Or the friends you would invite into your home, even
though you might have differing views on politics or religion but you avoid
those topics because you genuinely like that person and don't want to
jeopardize the friendship. The differences are respected - a noble concept.
At least once a month,
permanently deactivating my facebook account enters my thoughts and is given
serious consideration. I really do
enjoy the virtual socializing and love preaching to the choir, but the
inflammatory polls, the vicious propaganda, the silly games, oy the games….not so much. Thank goodness for the “Hide” and "Block Application"
options! With the right set of
friends (as opposed to "friends") facebook could be an interesting
forum for discussions involving opposing views, a true utopia. But if the only source
of news and information is FOX News for the friends with the opposing views, then any chance of a reasonable, astute
discussion is slim to none! And I certainly don't want you coming over to my wall spewing forth Glenn Beck venom verbatim. Not in my house! (Yes, this is a good example of a caustic opinion.) Add
the fact that the written word is too easily misunderstood, that humor can be
lost and inflections unheard and you’ve got a recipe for a communication
catastrophe.
Ah, the ambiguities of
facebook, and there are many. All
that I ask of my facebook friends is that when I post something they find
irritating, annoying or downright infuriating, and thus are compelled beyond
reason to comment (which I have been guilty of myself), then please do so in a
respectful, civil manner because my facebook wall is like a room in my house, my haven from hatred. If each of us made a conscious effort
to be a little more civil, and practice kindness and respect, just a little bit
each day, who knows what could happen? Something positive, perhaps.
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