I just scrolled through my Facebook feed and found this appalling little post waiting for me. Sadly, it was posted by someone I actually know, and used to work with. I have been acquainted with this woman for over 25 years, but I suddenly feel as though I just met her for the first time. I can’t say I was impressed with the introduction, either. As the election year drags on we will see more of this ignorance, intolerance, hate, and rabble rousing and I do not look forward to it at all. I abhor the ugliness that lurks behind this behavior and these awful attitudes, regardless of where it originates. Shame on the person who originated this pic, shame on the one who added the nasty message to it, shame on the one who posted it on Facebook, shame on anyone who shared it because they supported it………..and shame on me as well. I put it here in protest of the racism and hate behind it, but honestly I am not much better, because I just spread it around a little, too. A picture IS worth a thousand words, and I hope none of the words from this picture ever worm their way into my vocabulary. How disgusting.
I am just plain horrified & embarrassed to see garbage like this on my newsfeed on a daily basis. This was by no means a unique post but it was the one that finally pushed me off the ledge. How can anyone I call friend feel this way?
I haven’t seen this one, but I’m not surprised by it. Prior to 2008, I would have expected this crap out of a few: those on the fringe. Like you, I get this garbage in my news feed from folks I previously thought of as “normal,” as people I thought I knew.
Ugliness and hate have apparently been residing just below the surface—waiting for someone to say “go ahead, it’s okay.” And unfortunately, we have no shortage of idiots willing to push the “red button” in this regard.
I think it is best to show this stuff to the world, so we know what’s out there, so long as you contextualize it — and you did just that. Although I’ve “unfriended” a few acquaintances along the way to avoid seeing stuff like this.
I am seriously considering un-friending this woman. I am sure it won’t affect her, but at least it will take her awful posts off my feed.
And I think that’s for the best. Unfriending to be mean makes no sense, as it’s unlikely to change her behavior or make her a deeper thinker, but unfriending to protect yourself totally makes sense.
I am at a loss for words…