(Part one is here, in case you like to experience people whining.)
You know what's been making me cranky? Facebook, that's what. Or not so much FB as some of the people I've friended with whom I've become impatient, irritated, offended by, or fed up.
Now, I'm not going to stop using Facebook, at least at this juncture. But recently I've defriended four people in a fairly brief timespan.
The first time was a case of moral outrage. Someone I considered a friend (in real life) posted (and I'm paraphrasing) "Children who aren't vaccinated should be taken away from their parents and placed in refugee camps." Refugee camps. It so happens that my daughter didn't have her kids vaccinated. Even if that weren't true, it's a disgusting, callous statement. When I reported this to my daughter, she said, "People think they can say anything on the Internet. And he probably thought he could say this to you because he thinks only right-wing fundamentalists or Christian Scientists don't have their kids vaccinated."
Second was a friend (also a friend in RL) who waxed enthusiastic about the defense of that ass Phil Robertson. She, along with some of her friends, made the whole episode into a free speech issue, completely disregarding the homophobia and racism in what Robertson said. (The racism bothered me more than the homophobic statements, mainly because it was such revisionist history.) His vile, bigoted statements were defended not only by her but by some of her obnoxious friends who decided to join forces in their ridicule of me and my "ranting and raving." I had already considered unfriending this person because I couldn't take the constant Goddiness. But this made the decision for me. Why open yourself up to constant irritation and resulting high blood pressure?
The other two were people who asked me to be friends without having met me. I agreed because they seemed to be people whose opinions and jokes and gossip I would enjoy. But in each case, the annoyance factor outweighed the good points. I won't even try to go into the details here, as they would make for dull reading, but I swear I was pushed to it.
Now, you can say I'm intolerant, but in fact, I have FB friends with whom I disagree completely on matters of politics and economic policy and the like. Just recently I had a FB discussion with a friend who grew up in Poland during the time of Soviet rule and disagreed with me about Edward Snowden because he sought asylum in Russia, and it was mutually respectful and civilized. Many times I've had a discussion with people I disagree with and continue to maintain them as FB friends.
There's just a level of cluelessness sometmes that finally makes me think, "I really don't have to let myself in for this kind of crap that just makes me tense and unhappy."
And cranky.
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