Some days it just doesn't pay to get out of bed. And some days you just want to smack somebody upside the head. (Hey, that rhymes.)
Anyway, I've been having a bit of an ongoing argument with a friend of mine on Facebook about the whole campus pepper spraying incident that has been all over the internet. I firmly believe it was uncalled-for and there should be an investigation and repercussions. My friend firmly believes the officer in question was perfectly justified and the protesters are just a bunch of trouble makers. (OK, he didn't use that exact word, but it's pretty much what he said, trust me.) Then of course he implied that I was just jumping on the bandwagon and he's all disappointed in me....blah, blah, blah.
Well, I love how someone who hasn't seen me since 1987 thinks he knows how I operate. But, that's neither here nor there. This really just illustrates how situations like this can boil over, and not just when it comes to the actual incident itself. People have pretty strong opinions about things, and they often go off on a tangent and get lost in all the emotion. Sometimes things come out of no where, and some times things that have been under the surface for a long time finally bubble up.
Another argument I have been in today (again on Facebook) is about a recent meeting (the very first) of the newly formed Mitchell County Gay Straight Alliance. I heard about the meeting about 5 hours before it was to take place, and I immediately knew I wanted to go. I have relatives and friends who are gay/bisexual, and I feel they should have the right to marry whomever they choose. I had already decided I was going to do all I could to help stop the passing of this "marriage amendment" in NC, and here was my chance to really make a difference and meet others who wished to do the same.
Of course there were protesters, but by the time the meeting was over, they had gone. I will say when I got there, right at the start of the meeting, they were all very quiet and polite, which is not really what I expected. I figured that hey, maybe we can all agree to disagree and have some civil discourse. Well then I saw the postings on Facebook. So much for civility.
I think the internet allows a certain amount of anonymity, and that can be a good thing. It's good to be able to have open and free discussions. The problem lies in when people get on there and think they can say anything without any repercussions, especially when they are using their real names. You're not anonymous when you're signed on with your real name.
I for one do try to be civil. And yes, I am signed on with my real name. I decided a long time ago that I needed to start standing up for what I believe in. It's not those who do bad that are the problem, it's those who sit by and do nothing about it. (That's a paraphrase of course, but I don't remember the exact quote or who said it.)
Anyway, that's my slightly incoherent rant for the night. Maybe tomorrow will be a quieter day.
2 comments:
Good for you, Susan!
Seems to me there's a difference between a policeman surrounded by a bunch of screaming protestors using pepper spray because he feels threatened and a police officer walking along spraying a bunch of sitting protestors.
Susan, I feel exactly the same way as you do on both topics. A quote I like is "Evil flourishes when good people do nothing" but I can't remember who said it.
Post a Comment