I love the Internet, I hate the Internet.
I love social media, I hate social media.
I love Facebook, I hate Facebook.
The world has shrunk so much these past twenty or so years with the Internet, these past five to ten yrs with FB, etc.
Yes, I knew there were people not as
Learned this a little bit in HS, then more and more throughout my thirty-five plus yr work life/career.
I am definitely not the brightest bulb, never was, never will be.
I went to HS with a heck of a lot smarter people than myself. I’ve also have had the tremendous opportunity to either work with or work for, (or even supervise) some very, very smart people, and along the way, starting in grade school, high school, and (as I said, in my work life) have had to learn there are people less tolerant than I am, going to school or work with homophobes, people that cannot handle different skin colors, people who like guns and “gun rights”, people who like to get into trouble or argue against common sense or against “what is right”, just because “it’s fun”, just to “show off”, just to be in the “in” crowd, just to be on the opposite side of the fence, etc.
What am I ranting about??
It started with reading something about this new, very idiotic “stomp the American flag” challenge. I hadn’t heard anything about it until this evening.
Of course, like the idiot I truly am, I goggled it. Got me to a news organization that was reporting on it. I read the news article, and then this was where I fell in the bottomless pit:
I started reading the comments from people regarding this news report, actually regarding the “challenge” itself, with various people thinking its “ok” to do this (yes, it’s due to a free speech law), but it doesn’t mean “we” should be doing it, with one person actually saying, “it’s just a
I’m troubled tonight, because I read so many of these idiotic “comments”, I wonder who is teaching these people (I assume, mostly young, but “older” as well), and who is going to shake them and (gently) smack them along side their head, and point them in the “right” direction, if it’s not the parents, not the teachers, not their work colleagues, not their (best) friends, then who??
As I mentioned early on in this post, I sometimes “hate” the Internet, the social media, Facebook, since all of this online “news”, and “information” continues to open my eyes to how bad this world (in this particular case, some people in the U.S.) has become.
It just plain depresses me. Yes I know I can shut it off, that it’s my personal choice to read whatever I’ve been reading, to ignore it or not ignore it. It’s like driving on a freeway and there was a car accident, and everyone is slowing down, gawking, to see what happened – but, with no one taking any action to help. I really need to stop my (Internet/FB) gawking I guess – but, that is not the proper response at all, is it? Put my head in the ground, like the non-seeing Ostrich (with its head stuck in the sand)? Cover my eyes and ears like Sargent Schultz: “I see nothing, I hear nothing, I know nothing”. That’s not me, it just isn’t.
[My new phrase: “Geez Louise”.]
–end of soap box–
From my former work colleague and friend, Robert Baker:
I like your comments Brian and I get where you are coming from. I share some of the same thoughts. I don’t think putting your head in the proverbial sand is a solution at all. In my analysis the shrinking of the world by social media is both a curse and a blessing. It is a curse because it shows in no uncertain terms how horrible and misguided humans can be. It is a blessing because it can show how beautiful and heroic humans can be. If sometime in our past we didn’t believe the world was a diverse place than we certainly believe it now – and we have just scratched the surface – as we as humanity still remain quite a bit disconnected even with social media. On a daily basis I am challenged to decide who I am going to be, whether it be in fulfillment of my religious faith, in personal relationships or in my interactions on social media. If it was not for the good, the bad and the ugly I could not effectively take on that challenge. And so, I choose to not bury my head. Instead, with very very few exceptions I remain open turning the filters on and off only when severely overwhelmed by information overload. As you may know, a couple of times I have closed off social media during Lent – and I will probably continue to take time outs like that. And, regardless of what somebody says on social media I always say to myself – if I met this person walking down the street could I find at least one thing I would like about them – and the answer is always yes. I prefer to believe, rationalized or not, that remaining with my head out of the sand, as painful as it sometimes is, makes me a better person. Otherwise I would have to concede in some ways that I simply don’t care – and that is not me. So, that is where I am at in my development of emotional intelligence as it relates to social media. God knows I have made mistakes in the past as well – and I have to admit I continue to do so. And for all of those folks stomping on the flag – shame on them. But more importantly, shame on me should I fail to learn something from that and not share my wisdom with those I really need to influence – like my kids. Even at my age I am still growing and learning. I wouldn’t have it any other way and hope it doesn’t stop. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Blessing to you and yours.
My response to Robert:
Robert, just a short response for now since I have to get my girl early this coming morning.
You and I think so much alike, and I’ve seen many instances where you are in the same situation: I sometimes notice that you’ve responded to postings from some of the various politics group(s) and I then read them to see your response and to see the context – I’m sure you know your comments I’m speaking of – usually, they are in response to people who we don’t agree with, and I can see your frustration (similar to mine).
I totally agree with everything you said above in response to my posting, and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and feedback with me – I guess that that was what I was looking for, to see if anyone is thinking like me, and how others handle it, etc. I personally don’t want to spend several hours a day (not that you’re doing that), responding to idiotic nonsense, but I also, like you indicated, don’t want to ignore them either.
Thanks a bunch for your feedback – it’s greatly appreciated.