Outnumbered by good

Like the rest of America, my heart is hurting. The acts that happened during the Boston Marathon were pure evil. I went from shock, to sadness, to anger. I exchanged texts with friends and we talked about how much the world sucks. I was in a funk and then my wife pointed out this post from Patton Oswalt, or as Lucy would say, Remmy from Ratatouille.

Boston. Fucking horrible. 

I remember, when 9/11 went down, my reaction was, "Well, I've had it with humanity."

But I was wrong. I don't know what's going to be revealed to be behind all of this mayhem. One human insect or a poisonous mass of broken sociopaths. 

But here's what I DO know. If it's one person or a HUNDRED people, that number is not even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of the population on this planet. You watch the videos of the carnage and there are people running TOWARDS the destruction to help out. (Thanks FAKE Gallery founder and owner Paul Kozlowski for pointing this out to me). This is a giant planet and we're lucky to live on it but there are prices and penalties incurred for the daily miracle of existence. One of them is, every once in awhile, the wiring of a tiny sliver of the species gets snarled and they're pointed towards darkness. 

But the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evil doers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago. 

So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will."

Well said Mr. Oswalt. Thank you. 

FB addict

It's been only a couple days, but I actually do miss my Facebook more than I thought I would. Don't get it wrong, I do not miss the negativity, the political ramblings, and all the other problems I have with the site. I admitted it then, and I do now, I not only have an Internet obsession, but I'm also a Facebook addict. It was my way to stay connected to certain people. It's just too bad that I let certain others affect me as much as I have. Who knows how long my ban will last? I already miss my wife's funny quirks, pictures of my nieces and nephews, and the hilarious antics of some kid named Adverse.

Goodbye Facebook

So my facebook is no more. I've grown tired of the xenophobes, the politics, the narcissism, the feuds, the games, the endless fishing of complements, the never ending pictures begging you to like them and by choosing to ignore them you hate Jesus/want death to America/hate your Mom/enjoy terrorism, etc... It's all become a chore.

I admit it, I've been addicted to facebook. I would check it daily, if not every other hour. My iPhone would notify me (not by choice, I just never changed that feature) and I always have my computer on at home. I didn't use it to self promote myself, but I did try to bring smiles to peoples faces. My main purpose was to keep in contact with my brother in Virginia, my best friend in San Francisco, and my other friends and family across the country. It was a really useful tool to keep in touch.

But for some reason our society thinks because we sit behind a computer that manners do not apply. Go to any website and see the comments people have left. People, in general, are not nice. Whether trolling to get your goat, looking for shock value, or just being a jerk because they can, the Internet seems to be overrun by loud mouth individuals.

It's ok to express yourself. It's ok to make a stand for what you believe. But what most lack in doing so is tact. So often people were not just talking about what they believe in, they would also disrespect, call out, and try to humiliate anyone with different ideals. It's rather sad. I've seen more racism, sexism, political nonsense, and good old fashion xenophobic behavior online than I ever have in person. People say things online that they'd never say to a stranger in person.

The worst part of all of that is, the people on your facebook are supposed to be your friends and family. Nothing like seeing the people closest to you saying ugly and nasty things. Am I guilt free of such behavior? No. I too would be drawn in and would fire back. But that is not how I was raised, and that is not how I want to raise my children. I was taught to respect others, especially family and close friends.

So instead of constantly blocking people, deleting friends, and hurting feelings, I took myself out of the situation. I've grown tired of it all. I'll find away to keep in contact with friends and family. You'll still get your Lucy photo fix. Heck, I may return to facebook sometime down the line. But for now, this fat kid has logged off.