Sticks and Stones

The interesting thing about Facebook (and social networking sites in general) is that absolutely anyone can partake. There is not litmus test for courtesy, decency or even common sense. So, it shouldn’t surprise me when people act like trash and speak to perfect strangers with hate and disdain. You might want to sit down for this… but… I am gay. I am active on dozens of pages that are related to gay rights, gay families and the like. It never ceases to amaze me when people who disagree with who we are come to those pages looking for a fight. Usually it doesn’t faze me. Usually I just ignore it. But sometimes I remember how easy it is to track someone down in real life and suddenly I am 17 again, afraid to open my high school locker because I didn’t feel like reading my daily death threat. Mind you, this occasional fear isn’t going to stop me from existing, or from being the big mouth queer that these douchebags think I am… But I’d be lying if I didn’t acknowledge the occasional lump in my throat when in the midst of a battle with some Alpha dog, faux Christian scumbag. But I am getting off topic. What really fascinates me is how much hate some of these cretins spew while also having so much of their own personal information immediately accessible to the world. Often times when I am in one of these battles of the minds (or mindless as the case may be) I will take a look at some of these peoples personal pages… which are often totally viewable to the public. There sits their full contact information, employment information and a handy dandy list of all of their family members. Do people not realize that the things you post on social networking sites can affect you in real life? For instance if you choose to post your employer, you can definitely be held accountable for your actions online by said employer, should they be notified that you are involved in harassing or abusive behavior, particularly behavior that is targeting a protected group. Of course the greater question is… Why can’t people just leave others’ alone? I see people on my very friends list who do or say things that I am repulsed by and I don’t sit there and attack. Of course the occasional passive aggressive post is kind of expected of me at this point. When I have someone in front of me and I am angry. I usually (before going into attack mode) will pause for a couple seconds to ask myself… Is this really something I want to say (because let’s face it, we all say things in the heat of the moment, myself especially). Maybe there should be a button on Facebook that scores the bitchiness of your comment and requires a 30 second ‘catch your breath’ period before you can hit “submit.” I am kidding of course, although maybe it’s really not such a bad idea after all. The bottom line I suppose is that there will always be ‘internet tough guys’ out there. Maybe it’s moreso about how to deal with them. Maybe when you call me a queer and tell me that I am going to burn in hell I should just ignore you… Sadly for you though, I’m the kind of queer that will talk to your Grandma and have a conversation with your boss. My bad…