Writing yesterday’s blog post was quite refreshing for me, simply because of the light-hearted nature of it; my hope is that it did the same for my readers. It gave me a respite from the toxicity that seemed to permeate the air all day.
When I got on Facebook this morning, there was no mistaking that those (in my news feed) who have been quite vocal about Mitt Romney during the last few weeks and months were awfully quiet. I was actually shocked, but very pleased, given the vitriolic nature of some of the comments and posts I’ve seen recently. Aside from the lone “And we’re all screwed” status (oh, the drama) that I read early this morning, it seemed to me that most were living by the age-old saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say…”
What I did notice this evening were MANY posts expressing sadness, concern, and disappointment over the behavior of friends and/or colleagues since last night’s results. I lost count of the posts I read that were reminding people to be civil, begging them to respect others’ opinions, to remember that we’re all American, etc. THIS is what struck me most! I think it’s extremely ridiculous that I read so many of these (and no, they were not all supporters of President Obama)! I wonder if it’s just me or if this election was so much worse than the last one (which was definitely bad), in terms of the division and the outright nastiness! It just makes me sick!
Exhibit A
For the screenshot below, I decided to be nice and protect the identity of my Facebook “friend”, only because she may be innocent (although I doubt it). But I’m doing Brian (I don’t know him) a favor, right? Surely he would like for his voice to be heard. If not, well, here’s a good lesson for you regarding social media: What you post never goes away.
Brian’s comment was in response to the person’s “30 Days of Thankfulness” type post (which was also a little dramatic in the beginning: “To lighten my heart from the disappointment and sadness…“). I’m usually the last person to cry racism or to use the race card in any way, but I’m about 99.99% sure the last part of his comment is racially driven. As for my “friend”, it’s quite possible she was “Haha-ing” about the rest of the comment. Who knows? I will give her the benefit of the doubt and not put her on blast, but she will be deleted as a Facebook friend (she was already on the chopping block from some previous posts).
Exhibit B
Check out this class act (I’m proud to say that I don’t know her):
God bless the yet-to-be United States of America…
Very eloquently written. We are the United States trickled still with bigotry and hate. This prehistoric ideology is shrinking and being replaced by a large number of progressive brown people. Unfortunately, some states are still dragging their feet and raising bigots like turnip greens. With that said, I still see movement. My heart is assured that the majority of Americans are God fearing, law-abiding and decent people. I refuse to give the hatred any power over my life. They haven't been able to shake me, sadden me, make me hate them or lose my sense of right & wrong. But, I also feed them with a long spoon and remember them by their post.
Most Republican "adults" will shake off their loss and and look for better days to come like the rest of us. The Ole White Boys Club is shrinking and dying off. More importantly, their money is ineffective. The Tea Party radicals might want to re-examine their "morality" goals. They are realizing they are not in control of peoples personal choices. God does not need them to judge anyone. I say it all the time: Hate is not Holy. No one has to agree with everything about an issue but, let the record show; there are more "sins" than the 2 they focus on! How people with those views think we will never know. However, how they act will be seen by the world. Thank God for social networks. (sorry for my rant on ur blog *wink*)
Karen