Monday, January 30, 2012

What the ... unfriending?!?!?

A friend told me something many moons ago that a supervisor of his does at work. Sometimes he will point out when someone is doing something wrong by making an innoccuous and unaddressed comment over their radio system. That way only those hooked in can hear.

For example if he saw someone with their hands in their pockets and said "Are your hands cold?" over the radio. Someone who wasn't being addressed replied "Are you talking to me?" His reply was "Should I be?"

I found the fact that someone would reply that way interesting. What were they doing, or had they done, that would lead them to think they were being addressed? Did they have a guilty conscience for some reason?

All of which came to mind when I found myself unfriended and blocked on Facebook as well as unsubscribed to here by someone after my post "Becoming a bully" was put up. It made me wonder why. Do they feel guilty about something? Did it touch a nerve? Do I really care?

The former two questions, meh, no idea. I can only speculate. Odds are yes but considering my reply to the third question those questions quickly became moot.

The latter question, considering it took me almost 3 weeks to notice the actions of the person, I would have to say no, I don't really care.

In parting all I have to say to them if they see this, and to anyone else who does and automatically assumes it is aimed at them and scurries away, is that I wish them well in their life and future endeavours.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Shit Morons Say ... when making up an excuse.

According to the Captain of the Italian cruise ship that crashed he was not on the ship because he, and I guess the crew in the lifeboat with him, was thrown out of the ship and into the life boat when it crashed. Seriously? What a fucktard.

This ranks up there with the North Korean's claiming their soccer team was all struck by lightning during practice to explain why they sucked so much at the last World Cup.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Becoming a bully.

One of my friends, Jokey, used to be pretty spineless in his younger years. he would let anyone walk all over him and abuse him without saying a word. One person, Dean, really liked to pick on him and I often found myself intervening to end it. Sometimes physically.

Sadly, that person, Dean, was also a friend. A friend who had been picked on and bullied all through school and by his father. He took a route that people with similar experiences sometimes take, he became a bully himself when he found someone weaker.

One day Jokey grew a spine. It was nice to see him stand up for himself for a change. Unfortunately, he didn't grow a filter or a sense of discretion. When one guy pissed him off he felt it was fair play to lash out verbally at that persons wife in public and create a scene. He went from being a door mat to being the type of person who used to pick on him. In effect, at times, he became Dean. He became a bully.

It is actually a fairly easy transition from victim to bully. Sometimes they bully their old bullies. Sometimes they just fixate on a weaker person. The internet makes it even easier to bully or just flat out attack people. Some people do it directly while others take a more circuitous route and try to be anonymous. In the end they become that which they hated. A bully.

It is a path I can see myself taking if I didn't have boundaries I try to stick to. There are lines I try not to cross. It is tempting sometimes, and I can't claim that I am infallible and will never cross them, but I try not to do it.

*note* I posted this prematurely ... hit publish instead of save ... but I figured what the hell, it can stay as is.