Haters Gonna Hate Hate Hate Hate Hate.....

For a long time I thought that reality TV was the worst thing that ever happened to our country.  Now, I am pretty sure that social media is.  I know!  Ironic coming from a chick with a blog.

So here's what happened to me today.  The day after the election, I vowed I would not get on Facebook for love or money.  I wanted no parts of the comments and bickering.  Even though the election was over, I knew people were not ready to move on.  Not today, my friend.  But it was one of my best friend's birthdays and I wanted to post something nice for her on Facebook because I couldn't see her today.  (So, as it turned out, I guess I would go on Facebook for love.  I would have taken the money gig too but that offer didn't happen).  I go out there and do my business and then.....I did it.  I saw the top story in my news feed.  But it was good!  It was from an old friend of mine who said, 

"Folks, be kind to one another today.  Celebrate if you want to celebrate.  Grieve if you want to grieve.  But for the love of all that is holy, respect someone with a differing opinion and move on."   

I loved that he said that.  It was like this little happy light went on in my heart that maybe I was wrong and people were going to move on starting right now!  And there were like 20 comments and I was like, oh look, everyone is ready to heal and move on!  And I kept reading because I was so excited!  There were many positive comments in agreement and then...there it was.  An all out nasty comment war between people, who may or may not have even known each other, I don't know.  I was reading with my jaw dropped (because people being rude and uncivil never ceases to amaze me and for Pete's sake you are being hateful when he just said to NOT be hateful), and then I just stopped reading, because I couldn't go on.  And when I exited out of this tirade, I felt this terrible feeling, as if the comment had been directed at me, but it wasn't.  It had nothing to do with me whatsoever.  But I felt it.  And after a few minutes, it was still on me. You know what that is?

Toxicity.  

You see when people are ranting their hate and their anger and their ugliness, it gets all over you like mud and it takes just as long to get off. My heart was altered for the rest of the day.

I really blame social media for this.  And maybe cell phones too.  Sure, let's throw them in there too. People don't have face time anymore.  They hide behind phones, they hid behind computers and suddenly, because of this, people have been emboldened to say whatever they want to and in the process, they have forgotten their manners (I'm quite sure this happens less in southerners but I don't have the evidence to prove that yet).  But better yet, they have forgotten how to be decent people.

Let me share a quote with you that I love.  Chew on it for a minute.

We don't have to agree on everything, we don't have to believe the same things.  Since the dawn of time, man has not.  But now, for some reason, people think that if we disagree on something as simple as a political candidate, that they can have vehement hostility towards each other. And please, do not tell me it is because of who the candidate was.  That is a cop out.  People, it seems to me, are just looking for something to be pissed off about.  For some, this election fit the bill quite nicely and gave them a whole group of people that they could put their ugliness on and hate.  You know what?  I'm not Gandhi, but I know you should not have that much hate in your heart about anything.

I wish people would put the kind back in human kind.  Some of us will keep on trying to be a little bit better, a little bit kinder, a little bit nicer.  Some, sadly, will not.  All of us need to not lose heart and think that just because we can see these rude people more on social media, there are more of them.

I leave you with one more quote.  It's the most important one of all.  It's from Will Smith.  No, not Shakespeare, Smith.  Yeah, heavy philosophy tonight!  Years ago he did a remake of the song "Just the Two of Us".  It was a song to his young son.  There was a line in it that just stuck with me all these years and I say it to myself and my own daughters all the time.

Throughout life people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad,

Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.

Humankind, please don't drink the poison.

And For the Love of All That is Holy, Be Kind To Each Other~
K