Perils of Social Media

Recently I posted on my Facebook the following statement:

“I love many of you on Facebook, but the amount of misleading information being posted about people is garbage. It’s like the blatant anti-semitism in this country has spilled over to absolute vitriol in our own community. People are too lazy to do their own re-search and take false information at face value then demean people to an extent I honestly can’t compre-hend. Most would not have the guts to do it in per-son. If you are not a good person, and you know deep down in the pit of your stomach you are weak, please unfriend me, but don’t ever say hi to me on the street and talk trash about me or those I care about on this site. My advice to many of you, ask questions in per-son, do your own fact checking and be a decent per-son. If you need me, call or text. If you don’t have my contact, most likely there is a reason. I’m choosing to live my life with dignity, integrity and with intellect, I suggest many of you do the same and perhaps you will be happier people. If this hits a nerve, ask yourself why? I’ve come to realize the happy, joyful people in my life are NOT on social media.”

This comment came as the result of vitriol I see on social media regarding people in this community. It makes me sick to see what people say when they hide behind a keyboard. Is it post-COVID anger? Is it the state of the world with the wars in Ukraine and Israel? Is it seeing violence everywhere in the world that al-lows people to think they can say awful things about people on social media? I can’t wrap my mind around any of it, but I do know it’s ugly!

I suggest next time you decide to write a negative post about someone, substitute their name with some you love in your family. I’m sure it will give you an idea of how you would feel if you read the same com-ment about your loved one.

I read a comment recently from a good friend of mine. She said that when she’s driving behind some-one slow in traffic instead of thinking, “what a jerk, learn to drive”, she thinks, “I wonder why this person is driving so cautiously”. Perhaps the person has anxi-ety driving because they have experienced an accident or lost someone in an accident”. I loved this state of mind. Perhaps if we all thought this way, we would live in a world a littler kinder by being a little softer and a lot more compassionate.

The comments I see our this community show it to be a microcosm of what we see our this country. We see masked pro-Palestinian protesters threatening people in malls and on skating rinks. We see people celebrating Hamas on social media for their “freedom fighting”. Many, including women, are not denounc-ing the rape and slaughter of women, children, and men. If you must protest with your face covered, I contend your intent is not peaceful in nature.

It feels to me that we have lost our moral compass and I never thought it would happen here. We are a community built on tragedy and resilience, and yet I see people I once respected, act like vicious individu-als I no longer know or understand,

I’ll leave you with this thought next time you want to write something mean on social media: A) would you say it to someone’s face, and B) substitute their name with some you love and see how it feels.

As a quick update here at the paper. We have had a few personal issues happen here, so we are running short staffed. I may have the office closed during reg-ular hours if I need to attend a Council or committee meeting or am delivering papers. We are a small team here and doing our best. If you have an urgent need, please email the office, or call me on my cell.