On being nice...

Being nice.  Why is it such a foreign concept? it amazes me how people can hide behind the anonymity of the internet and write truly horrible things about other people.  Adult people.  I just don't get it.  There are real people behind the blogs and stories online.<br /><br />Is it really so hard to be nice when you're a grown up?<br /><br />It's not just online, it's in person too.  Is it really necessary to have backhanded comments about people when they leave a room?  Are we still in middle school?<br /><br />It's a small world.  Really friggin small world.  We think it's huge.  It's not.<br /><br />You never know when you find that a blogger that has more in common than you first expect.  One blogger from 'round these parts grew up in the same housing complex that I did.  Neither of us live anywhere near this state anymore.  We didn't know each other but rode our bikes on the same sidewalks, sledded on the same hill, played on the same swings, and our parents washed clothes in the same machines.  True story.  Small world.<br /><br />You never know when another blogger is your current neighbor.  Well, not quite neighbor, but plenty close to be obsessed with the same store and frequent the same restaurants.  Right under our fingers, here in the great big world wide web, there's my neighbor.  And there you go again, small world.<br /><br /><br />I went to a birthday party today.  One I'd been dreading.  It's my son's BFF.  The two are inseparable at preschool and I forced myself to do the right thing for my child.  I've never cared much for the mother, thought some ugly things about her too.  But i made it a point to keep those thoughts to myself.  Glad I did and I'm glad I forced  myself to give her a chance.  I talked to her for a long time and found out I really really liked her.  I have a new friend now and so does she.<br /><br />I met her husband and had the <i>best</i> time talking to him also.  We hit it off big time.  And I liked his brothers and their wives and girlfriends too.  I had a level of comfort with them that I can't quite explain.  Finally asked what part of the country they were from (their accents were clearly from the general area I was from).  Well, there you go.  One lives in that same town I (and that blogger mentioned above) am from, another brother from the same county, and the rest of them in a neighboring county.  Small world.<br /><br />We're a good 500-600 miles away from this place.  This was an unbelievable coincidence.  <br /><br />I stayed hours past what should have been my welcome.  I quickly became one with their family.  My long suppressed accent came back out as we all laughed and had a great time.  The difference between the accent I usually hold and the one that came back today are day and night.<br /><br />I was told the 'tude that came back home with the accent wasn't appreciated.  I'm sitting here working on my drawl while I tame that wild side back down where she belongs.<br /><br />A really close friend was hurt terribly by commenters on her blog.  It's a funny mommy blog, pure comedy and nothing more.  Everything is her running commentary on the things her kids say and do.  It's stuff we all think at one time or another but can't possibly say out loud. Many live vicariously through her humor.  She was attacked.  Her facebook page was suspended due to their complaints.  She can have that back by now, I think, but doesn't want it.  She took down her blog.   I've known her forever, before she even had kids and long before a blog.  She's a great person and doesn't deserve to be brought to tears.  The blog was a part-time income for her.  So it's like she's lost her dignity and her job and her comedic outlet all in one swoop.  <br /><br />Which then got me thinking about all the nonsense in these parts of blogland a few months ago too.  Same thing.  Well, totally different, but still bullies hiding behind the anonymity of the internet.<br /><br />It's just all stupid.<br /><br />If you can't sign your real name to something, or you couldn't say it in person to the face of the other, why bother saying it?<br /><br />You don't know if that person you're talking about is someone you know, someone you once knew, someone you will know in the future, or your mom's best friend.<br /><br />It probably isn't.<br /><br />But one thing is for sure.  It's a living, breathing human being with feelings.

On being nice...

Being nice.  Why is it such a foreign concept? it amazes me how people can hide behind the anonymity of the internet and write truly horribl...

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