I put myself in jail for a little while. Not “jail” jail, but Facebook jail. I had to stay off the social media site for my own well-being. I owed it to myself. The political rants by some of my “friends” were getting out of hand and it all was because, or mostly because of the Parkland school shooting in Florida.
I wrote in previous columns here on Blasting News about gun control, both of which cover issues surrounding the Parkland shooting. Unfortunately, my Facebook “friends” either didn’t read my articles or they didn't take them to heart. Sad.
It’s sad because their rants are based on factually incorrect information (such as that the AR-15 stands for “automatic rifle” with 15 rounds of ammunition), and hence they espouse ridiculously moronic remedies.
I want to be clear to the readers: I am truly and honestly fine with differences of opinion. But opinions based on your emotions serve no purpose other than to make yourself feel good and possibly hurt others. Especially when your facts are wrong. Because, then all you become – all you really are -- is a screamer. And screamers are abusers. And it's abusers and their victims that perpetrate mass shootings. So maybe, just maybe, the problem is you.
It's outrageous
For example, one of my Facebook friends is an old classmate from high school.
I barely know him and I barely knew him. We said “hi” to each other in the halls and that was about it. He is a big lefty liberal. And the Parkland shooting fired his righteous indignation and his all-encompassing want for “something to be done about this!” His solution: have a revolution and kill NRA members.
Really? Do you think that maybe – just maybe – you are part of the problem here, Bud?
Do you think that your self-indulgent outrage and your demand for murder and physical violence because events don’t go your way could be part of the problem?
We have been teaching and encouraging our kids to lash out at anything and anyone that offends them. And why not? We do it ourselves. So if we do it, how can it be wrong if our kids do it?
So, its obviously not us – it’s the gun!
What does one do?
There are many people of Facebook that still haven’t learned that your friends don’t care about your political rants. In fact, we don’t want to see them at all. We are there for funny pictures, amusing memes, and family photos. That’s it. That’s all.
So what do I do when a 50-something Facebook “friend” threatens to kill people and overthrow his government on social media? Do I report it to Facebook? No, they are very sympathetic to their like-minded citizens so that won't work. Do I report it to the police? Maybe. It was just an emotional rant and he is the type of guy to faint at the sight of blood so maybe that isn't necessary. So what do I do?
I know what I will do, I’ll go to jail. Facebook jail. After all, I needed the break and I owed it to myself.
