Before You Post

I feel that I'm a pretty patient person when it comes to dealing with people's foolishness. Maybe during certain times of my life, I find myself being a bit more ... difficult than other times. But overall, I'm pretty reasonable.

But I have my "hot spots." Those spots where, if touched, I lose my mind and get all kinds of aggravated and dramatic. There aren't many. But there are some. And I'm about to describe one of those hot spots.

If you, in your eagerness to post some controversial stuff, or in your sweet disposition feel posting the latest news on measles is the least you could do for your fellow Americans, forget to research what you are about to post -- We (you and I) are going to have problems remaining friends. Because when I find out that the nonsense you posted is total and complete bullshit, and that you just wasted valuable minutes of my life because I had to do the research your ass should have done before you posted about it, and THEN when I tell you that what you posted is bullshit and you refuse to take it off your time line without any explanation or clue that it is bullshit, thus continuing the spread of the false information ...

*takes big breath*

I'm going to delete your ass. I can't have stupid friends like you.

Just last night, I ran across a post on a "friend's" timeline about the ever terrifying illness Ebola. Now, I'm older than a few decades. I've been around for the real conspiracies regarding illnesses. And what I wasn't personally alive for, I know people who were -- and have heard from them. Yes, we had a government that covered up some serious shit. We had some people who were injected with diseases just to see what would happen. By the government. And let's not forget the cover up and mislabeling of AIDS in the 80's. And then, not so long ago, there was that whole thing with women losing their uterus and ability to carry children when our government dumped toxic waste in the middle of "nowhere" without telling residents in the area that they were being poisoned. And of course most of the people affected were minority women -- migrant workers and the like. So yes. We have a government that covers up shit. A lot of shit. But if you run across an article (ONE ARTICLE) that says there is an outbreak of Ebola in a city near you -- and there has been NOTHING on any of the other websites like, I don't know, MSNBC or CNN or nothing reported on any news station. Then you need to, for the sake of world peace, look into it. You have to. It's your duty. And when your misinformed ass decides to overlook the fact that this article came off of a website that has in it's description a disclaimer (A DISCLAIMER) that says that it's satirical and that nothing should be taken seriously and that names are made up except for with celebrities or sports figures, um ... then you really should listen to me (or anyone with a brain) when they say your article about the latest outbreak is bullshit.

But you don't. You leave that mess up on your timeline. You don't even acknowledge to your other friends or people who might come across the damn article that it's a farce. That it's satire. That it's false. You'd have your friends in a large metropolitan area freaking out. Running around scared. Using their time that they could have been using for something productive -- worrying about shit that they don't have to even worry about. Not to mention the number of calls generated to health officials, taking away time that they could be spending really dealing with this issue (and other issues that are far more pressing!)

I don't even think I can adequately put into words how much I can not stand people that spread around gossip bullshit on facebook or twitter or wherever. Not to mention my complete disdain for this website that thinks it's funny to spread a story around like it's a joke. It's not something to joke about.

I look up everything. Before I post anything on my page I look things up. Before I comment on something that has anything to do with real life problems or issues, I look shit up. I hate the thought of being made a fool of, so in the event I post something and someone tells me that I've just posted some bullshit, I'm taking it down. ESPECIALLY if it's spreading something harmful to a large group of people. People who are already scared. People who are already misinformed. Do you know what happens with a bunch of misinformed and scared people? Do you care?

So, I can't be your friend if you post nonsense like this. Mistakes happen. In our humanness we sometimes make mistakes. We like drama. Controversy. And as much as some of us hate to be scared or worried or angry, we sure gravitate towards things that make us feel all of these things. I'm guilty too. But I can't have it on my page anymore. I have to limit the bullshit I have and spread. And if you don't care about the truth and accuracy -- then ...

Unfriend.