FreeBlogging: The Internet Is A Breeding Ground For Assholes, Including Me!

I wrote this weeks ago as I was going off on a tangent. I’ve debated publishing it because I don’t think it’s written very well. Then I said, fuck it, I’m a free writing asshole!

The internet is a breeding ground for assholes! They’re more commonly called trolls and I also call them internet gangstas.

Everyone has an opinion (including me) about everything under the sun and I think we have a right to express it without being dogged unless we’re clearly asking for it. If I don’t agree with what you’re saying I take a moment to decide whether or not I want to get involved in the discussion or the drama that may occur.

When I do express my opinion I try my best to do it respectively and without pissing anyone off…on purpose. But, there is bound to be one person that feels the need to put me in my place by responding with a superior tone.

I also make it a point to try to see things from perspectives that are different from mine and I try to share my perspective to induce understanding.

The major issue with online and oftentimes offline communication is that many of us aren’t open to understanding other people’s perspective or ways of life. We need to be more tolerant and acceptable of how other people see the world and chose to live in it.

It doesn’t mean we have to like it or agree with it, but we need to come away with a better understanding of why people are the way they are and respect them for it.

For example, if the way they live their live doesn’t negatively or directly affect you, live and let live.

My Name Is Dangerous Lee and I’m An Asshole

It doesn’t mean there is something deeply wrong with me if I think it’s okay to smoke weed and you don’t, or if I think abortion is a woman’s rightful choice and you don’t,  or if I think homosexuality is normal and you don’t, or if I’m Agnostic and you are Christian.

We’re all conditioned from babies to act and think one way or another and we are all raised different culturally from household to household, so what makes us so sure that our way is the only way or the right way? What works for you may not work for me and vice versa. There’s more than one road to any destination.

I often forget that when people see me they only see a woman, and not only that, a Black woman who lives in the Flint, Michigan area AKA The Murder Capital, so I already have these boxes that people think I should fit in and some people are hell-bent on keeping me boxed.

Plus, my pen-name is Dangerous Lee…and because of that some people initially think I’m a man! Or that I will cause harm.

Do I have an identity crisis or what?!

My mother raised me to be a free-spirited, strong, independent person but I was also raised under certain religious beliefs. As I grew up and experienced and learned certain realities of life, some of the things I was taught to believe in didn’t vibe with my spirit.

I realized that the way I felt and thought about things was okay and actually very normal and not a sin or something to be ridiculed for. Many people I love are religious, and although I am not, I have been positively affected by certain religious beliefs because of how I was raised. I don’t subscribe to religion because I am a free-thinker.

I also have the mentality that allows me not to care if you don’t like or agree with my beliefs or how I live my life. It’s my life. Not yours. Worry about your own  salvation.

As Jill Scott says; I know what I know.

I speak from a place of learning. I’ve always considered myself non judgmental, and for the most part I am, but I have a few areas I need to work on.

I sometimes judge people negatively that think differently than I do on certain topics, but to my credit I also base my judgments on their overall word combined with their actions. We’re human, we judge, but I don’t have hatred for anyone who can’t understand my perspective.

I do have hope that people’s minds will open further to understand where I am coming from, but I won’t hold my breath.

Assholes on Racism

Not generally speaking, but White people get on my damn nerves. A White male “friend” of mine contacted me recently and stated that he agrees with Charles Barkley’s thoughts on the George Zimmerman case.

I think Charles’s ignorant ass statements only help to hurt race relations and give certain White people something to latch onto to validate their misguided opinions on race.

I simply told my friend that based on our different life experiences and perspectives I understood why he thinks that way. White people will NEVER understand issues related to race or racism, so I don’t even know why they think their opinion is valid or needed on the topic.

The saying, “It’s a Black thing you wouldn’t understand”, applies here. It would be great for White people to get a better understanding of racism, but it’s natural that they don’t fully get it, because they will never experience it.

Having said that, White people need to stop thinking they are the authority on racism and that they can dictate how we feel or how we should feel, but White privilege is a bitch.

That’s it! White People Homework: Research White Privilege.

As a Black woman I understand the injustice in the not guilty verdict because of this country’s issue with racism and classism. Zimmerman had no right to approach Trayvon in the first place. Had he not done so, Trayvon would be alive.

However, I’d like to think that if I were a White woman, like Alexandra Allred, I would also understand the injustice based on the public facts.

I am beyond sick of discussions concerning Zimmerman and Paula Deen.

Both conversations suffer from people not being fully informed on the facts of each case, but people have very strong opinions towards anyone who dares not support these two people. I had a White woman (who claimed she knew all the facts) actually tell me that I have hate in my heart and that I need God along with a few other choice words on Pinterest because of an article I wrote about Paula Deen.

I told her to fuck off and that she needed God more than I did along with some common sense. Granted telling her to fuck off was harsh, but her comments, which she has since deleted, were also harsh and very racist. I’ll never understand the phenomena of speaking your mind and deleting the comments once you have been challenged.

I believe in giving as good as I get. If you can’t handle the backlash keep your damn opinions to yourself. If you decide to share you opinions try not to be an asshole about it because then the Asshole Calvary is open for business!

Sometimes I know if I leave a comment expressing my opinion on someone’s personal post that it will only agitate the situation, but I don’t get off on conflict, so I avoid leaving my thoughts most times.

There’s nothing wrong with a good debate, but arguments piss me off so I often skip the opportunity to discuss certain topics unless I feel like the statement being made attacks me or my personal beliefs.

There are lots of controversial things I’d like to discuss, but I don’t because I don’t feel like dealing with the people who don’t get it, don’t want to get it, and just want to be…assholes.

Internet assholes are only interested in their feelings, opinions and beliefs. Social media has also made sharing our opinions a way of life. Everyone’s opinion counts online, but it’s all in the delivery.

Research: Nicety.

I am who I am and you are who you are because of all that we have seen and experienced in life. This includes things that have happened to us unwillingly and choices that we have made. I’ve met all kinds of people along the way in my 38 years who have similar experiences to mine and those who’ve lived lives vastly different from mine and the one thing we all have in common is that we are all flawed.

The next time you want to leave a smart-ass comment at this website or elsewhere on the web, understand that not everyone sees the world as you do, has lived the life you have, or has been conditioned to think the way you do.

Choose your words wisely because you’re not the only asshole with an opinion.