Like all of us, I know we should use social media safely. More importantly, I wish we would all use it responsibly and not as a weapon to hurt others. Yet, we all know people, with increasing frequency, who have expressed the need to unfriend or block someone who just can’t stop their negative rant.
When nastiness and volume levels go up, up, up, sanity levels seem to go down, down, down. Social media seems more like anti-social media. I don’t care how different our opinions are. I care about how we treat each other, especially when we differ.
We can and should do better. We must if we are to survive as a civilized group.
In my book, “The Bimbo Has MORE Brains… Surviving Political Correctness,” I calmly note that there is no law against ignorance. The best we can do is to keep educating people. We need not waste one drop of anger on ignorance.
That said, my heart aches when I read painful expressions from someone who has been railed against, especially on sites like Facebook. “Nastigrams” from naysayers and buffoons are bullying. Cyber-bullying is hideously ugly and cowardly.
I like to remind my readers and friends that when someone else is being bitterly sour, we don’t have to drink from their cup. We must try not to let someone else’s lemons sour our hearts.
Little supportive quips can help remind us, too. Devices and people work better when we turn them on, not off. Do not ever feel trivialized by someone else’s opinions.
People who think that screaming louder makes their way of thinking more valid and profound should think again. They merely sound mean, belligerent, and intolerant… at best.
Cathy Burnham Martin is an award-winning journalist, published author, creative foodie, and communications geek. Her books and Audiobooks are available through all major book retailers, Amazon, and Audible.
