I’m Sorry…Are You in a Bar?
I’m convinced that many people that comment on websites are drunk. They would have to be to think it acceptable to write some of the things that they do.
DH and I were discussing an article on Yahoo the other day that discussed a public proposal of a black man to a white woman. The comments were closed. And why do you think the comments were closed? Because people are idiots.
This is another example of why the internet is not always a good thing, and also exemplifies the lack of manners that I have previously blogged about. Would you go into a town meeting in a strange town and blast the town policy, curse at the supervisor and create a scene. No? WELL THEN DON’T DO IT ON A MESSAGE BOARD/COMMENT FORUM. That’s what it equates to.
Throw yourself in a situation you know a fraction of and eviscerate the subjects of the article. Blast the writer, the commenters, hell the President (a subject of many eviscerations himself) and claim that everything will be resolved in 2012 when the world ends. Do it because you can! Do it here, because if you went to the aforementioned town meeting and conducted yourself that way, you’d be arrested.
Free speech you claim? Well, maybe this isn’t exactly like yelling Fire in a crowded theater, but it is like yelling “Fuck” in a crowded preschool. You’re going to have a bunch of people commenting and repeating, that have no idea what they’re saying and people standing back shocked…trying to fix the situation, but the damage has been done.
Maybe my rambling doesn’t make sense tonight, but here’s my point. Use your common sense and your sense of decorum when you comment on things. Manners don’t fly out the window because people can’t see what you’re doing. Be respectful. Be strong. Be opinionated. But…and for lack of a better word…don’t be an asshole. Don’t conduct yourself like a drunken moron. And for goodness sakes…keep your f-cks sh-ts and c-nts out of your comments. There are ways you can express your anger without taking it to the gutter!
Running to Stand Still 