Yesterday I read a post shared by a friend on Facebook. It was a heart warming story about a boy with serve learning disabilities, Shay, and a group of regular peers who went out of their way to include him in their game of baseball. In fact I encourage you to read it; and I’d paste it here, but it's a bit on the long side and I'd be likely run into trouble for plagiarism.
As I read this post in it's original shared form, it brought a tear to my eye, but also a smile. Unfortunately, this positive experience was ruined by this negative and disappointing footnote:
“AND NOW A LITTLE FOOT NOTE TO THIS STORY:
We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference.
We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice:
Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process? A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
You now have two choices:
- Delete
- Forward
May your day, be a Shay Day❣️❣️❣️🌎❤️
BE KIND!!!!(bawling)!!!!!”
I'm afraid I don't agree with the author's assessment here. First of all, every teacher in schools I've ever met would have seen this story as a teachable moment and would have revelled in the chance to share it with their class. As for public decency being suppressed in workplaces, is it? Or is it just that it doesn't generally come up while you're busy getting on with work? On the whole, I don't think any workplace makes any attempt to suppress or encourage these things; what their workers do in their own time is up to them, though and let's be honest, a quick joke to brighten the day is much easier than telling a long story about a good deed done to be inclusive. Let's not read more into things than necessary.
As for sorting out people who would receive this story well, how many of us would read that and think we know someone who wouldn't receive it very well? They'd have to be a pretty heartless person not to receive a story like that in the spirit it was meant, even if they do think it's a bit mushy.
Let's be honest, this type of footnote to Facebook posts is actually probably quite familiar. It seems that some people are so desperate to have their posts go viral, that they add footnotes to guilt trip or threaten people into sharing it on. However, I see another undertone here and that's one that is trying to say, “I'm a better, kinder, more sensitive person than most and that makes me and others like me a bit more special.” I know there's a phrase for this, but I can't remember it...oh yes, virtue signaling. Perhaps making it seem like most people are inconsiderate A-holes helps makes one to look more virtuous.
I'm not a big Facebook user and don't even post from my personal page, but I shared just the story of Shay on my Miniature Smallholding page (as linked above). My page isn't hugely popular, but I’ve already had two shares, unbidden and unasked for. For me this shows the true nature of people, that if they are moved by something they will share it without you having to tell them to, because that's what people do.
It seems we have reached a point where if someone doesn't agree with you on exactly everything, then they are a horrible, discriminating person. Seeing as the chances are that no-one will agree with you only absolutely everything, that starts to make for an awful lot of horrible people.
It seems that whenever I see discussions on social media it turns into a attempts to belittle others; “moron!” ”idiot!” Heck, even the media is encouraging it, with reports on “covidiots!” How unbiased of them.
Isn't it about time we stopped assuming the worst in everyone?
I can honestly say I don't know any racists. Maybe I did once, but even they have come around. I also don't know any homophobes or transphobes. Okay, some don't like it constantly being pushed at them, but they really aren't bothered that different genders and sexualities exist. I am aware that discrimination exists and some people are still intolerant, but in the western world, they are in the minority, not the majority. What's it like where you live? What are the people who surround you like?
We reached this point a while ago XD
I do. Most people know what not to say where I can hear them though.
Exactly this was why I stopped reading comments XD it took a monumental effort to start up again here where the comments are mostly (bar a few individuals) polite :)
Lol! They know better than to face your wrath?
I'm curious, though, are they ever discriminatory towards those people to their face? I do know a few a couple of people who will lump groups into a category as a whole, but when they meet or know people, they judge them purely as individuals. Ie. They might class Muslims in general as extremists, but have work colleagues who are Muslim and get on just fine with them.
Not reading comments is a good idea. I should try that.
Yeh specially since I usually let myself get to the actual angry stage before responding these days XD (as far as I can tell from observing reactions seems people prefer being yelled at to icy politeness)
Now? Depends whether you're in an echo chamber or not. In fairly recent history (I'm talking about my childhood and even young adulthood though we can go back to my mum's childhood too if that still counts as "recent"? XD) that has definitely happened.
There's good discussions in comments. Trick is to just be selective about which comment threads you want to brave ;D
That is of course very true. Lots of interesting things can be gleaned from the discussions. Might be a good idea to assess current frame of mind before taking the plunge too, though. Gotta love the booby trapped ones where you think it's bound to be innocuous, then discover a troll got loose! 😓
Then you laugh or mute or laugh and mute :D
A small question....do u think people out here would spare time to read the link?....
Haha! Maybe not, did you?
I do like, very rare to have such bunch of people who try to do things that make other happy...as in case the base ball players...who keep throwing balls here n there, just to make shay win...