I'm always amazed at just how people respond online. Back in the good ol days of administering message boards, I remember people would comment without thinking. Soon thereafter, a war on the message board would be started. Nowadays, it is not confined to message boards, but to all areas of the internet like news articles, news 
pundits and social networking sharing.
Lately, I've seen some stories appear on the headlines of the local news sites and it isn't but a matter of moments before people start posting horrible comments. Now, I know that not everyone agrees with each other or likes what the other stands for, but when a story of tragedy hits, is it really a good thing to make hurtful, mean and disrespectful comments?
The discourse in this world is sad, especially in the US! We see it on TV, we hear it from our politicians, the media pundits, and then from all the everyday citizens who comment on the news articles with their biased rants of opinion disguised as fact.
Even after the Oprah show, I remember having people send me some not so nice comments about the Male Survivor episode (Nov 2010 – Read Blog Post). Most people were generally supportive but a few really put the sour icing on the cake! Some of my own family were supportive but a few treated me as though I didn't exist because I exposed a family secret.
We all need to stop and think before we sit down and type some anonymous comment out on our computer screen. Even though we cannot see the person on the end and have no idea who they are, our vicious tongue does nothing to build up this country and this world. A well thought out response stated with respect could be a moment of change for many instead of another person adding gas to a forest fire! We may feel we are correct in our views and opinions but if we don’t learn to think and respect each other, there will be no one left to listen to what we say.
Further Reading:
1) Quiet Please, Just Listen
2) Needing To Be Right
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Blog Post & Images (c) 6/06/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com
If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
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pundits and social networking sharing.Lately, I've seen some stories appear on the headlines of the local news sites and it isn't but a matter of moments before people start posting horrible comments. Now, I know that not everyone agrees with each other or likes what the other stands for, but when a story of tragedy hits, is it really a good thing to make hurtful, mean and disrespectful comments?
The discourse in this world is sad, especially in the US! We see it on TV, we hear it from our politicians, the media pundits, and then from all the everyday citizens who comment on the news articles with their biased rants of opinion disguised as fact.
Even after the Oprah show, I remember having people send me some not so nice comments about the Male Survivor episode (Nov 2010 – Read Blog Post). Most people were generally supportive but a few really put the sour icing on the cake! Some of my own family were supportive but a few treated me as though I didn't exist because I exposed a family secret.
We all need to stop and think before we sit down and type some anonymous comment out on our computer screen. Even though we cannot see the person on the end and have no idea who they are, our vicious tongue does nothing to build up this country and this world. A well thought out response stated with respect could be a moment of change for many instead of another person adding gas to a forest fire! We may feel we are correct in our views and opinions but if we don’t learn to think and respect each other, there will be no one left to listen to what we say.
Further Reading:
1) Quiet Please, Just Listen
2) Needing To Be Right
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Blog Post & Images (c) 6/06/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com
If any part of this post is used or shared, a link back to this site is required.
http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
People love to comment with pseudo names. And it has become vile. I just de-twitted someone yesterday for this very reason. On Facebook, I find delete a wonderful option. Keep up the positive posts!
ReplyDeleteDelete is so wonderful on Facebook (of course I took it a little further and "deleted" myself). I'd love to see the world learn to build one another up instead of constantly tearing each other down. What a wonderful world that would be. Okay, now I feel like I'm back at Disney World! :)
ReplyDelete