Cyberbullies

I am about to ask the most rhetorical question to ever exist inside of my brain. Have you ever left an innocent comment on Facebook only to have your notifications blow up with a bunch of random people who think they know everything about whatever it is you just posted? It seems as if you literally can't say anything without Mr. or Mrs. A Hole having to come along and tell you why you are wrong for whatever it is you just said. Raise your hand if this has ever happened to you.

I recently just spent three days in Facebook jail for defending the police. I was blocked from liking or commenting on anything because of violating the terms of service for "bullying and harassment". All I said was that Blue Lives Matter on a post that said "F*** the Police". That post was not marked as hate speech or bullying. It wasn't marked as harassment or bad language. However, my simple statement in defense of police got me a three day shadow ban from social media. Amazing how the world works now, isn't it?

Today, March 3, is my first day back on Facebook and already, the first comment I have made in a mom group I'm in that is described as "A safe place for non judgmental mothers to ask for advice or tips" has my notifications blowing up left and right. The topic was about bathing your kids. How often is too often? I posted that my kids bathe every night, and that sometimes I let them bathe in the morning as well. Apparently I pissed a lot of moms off.

So far I have been accused of stripping my kids bodies of natural oils and bacteria. I've been told that they will surely die of the corona virus because bacteria will flock to their bodies quicker than if they were bathed only once a week. I'm also causing them horrible skin conditions that will effect them horrifically later in life... etc etc.

I try to stay humble when things like this happen, or to not respond at all. However, other mothers jumped in and said that they too bathe their children every day. So my phone just keeps pinging with notifications from these mothers going back and forth about bathing etiquette.

They also went on to tear apart my appearance, my marriage, and my capability as a mother due to my lack of response. This is a typical day on social media if you post anything in the public. There is no escaping it unless you stay completely silent. It doesn't matter if you are for or against a topic at hand, someone is ALWAYS going to pop up to tell you what a horrible person you are.

This happens even worse if you post anything in regards to politics. I'm convinced that absolutely no one has any actual idea what is going on in the world anymore. You have two types of people. On one side, you have people saying things like "Biden won. Get over it." and the other side is full of people saying "The election was stolen. Illegitimate president!" No one is gonna win this battle. Like it or not, Biden is the President. Going back and forth on social media will not change this.

People are more consumed by fighting about the outcome of the election rather than paying attention to what is actually going on right now. Anything they actually are paying attention to is meaningless. I have never seen so many people concerned over the gender of a toy potato in my life. The world today is more divided than it has ever been and it makes me sad. You have people demanding equality while fighting racism with racism. People hating each other and fighting... in the name of peace. Anyone else see the irony in this?

Social media was designed to bring people together, but I've never felt more disconnected from people in my life. The problem is that people have false confidence online. They bully and harass all while hiding behind a screen and a key board. More than half of these people that are mom/dad shaming you wouldn't have the nerve to say one word to your face. How often do you see people walking through the store screaming about voter fraud? Have you ever been told to "educate yourself" in person over anything? I haven't. But online, that seems to be a pretty popular line, if not the MOST popular.

I can't imagine that people have always been this horrible to each other. Are "likes" on Facebook enough to turn someone into a hateful mean person? What do people get from being so awful to each other? I have so many questions. In a world full or people who want to hand out Nobel Peace prizes for doing nothing and participation trophies just for showing up, why aren't people more decent? In a world where bullying is so frowned upon and words are literally considered violence, why are so many more key board warriors popping up to say the most horrific things to complete strangers?

The world is backwards. We fight violence with violence. Sex and nudity is liberating and covering up your body means you're oppressed... but you're also a whore if you show cleavage. If you have big lips, they're fake. If you have small lips, you're ugly.. and should get fillers. If you're skinny, you would look better if you gained weight.. or you probably had liposuction. If you're heavy, you're fat and should lose it, but maybe not... because being overweight in a bikini is also "body positivity". Stay at home mom? You're lazy. Working mom? How could you neglect your kids like that? Stay at home dad? Wimp. Working dad? Don't you ever make time for your family? Kids have different mom or dad? You're a whore. Kids have the same mom and dad? Oh, you think your family is better than someone else's.

You can't win. This world is set up to watch you fail. Because people have made it that way. People don't congratulate your efforts and hard work anymore. They judge you. They sit behind screens and judge everything you do. If you're succeeding in life, you're pissing someone off and you're probably lying on social media anyways. No way you're really as happy as you seem in your posts. If you're failing or posting about your struggles on Facebook, you're either seeking attention or you are the topic in conversation where all of your "friends" are laughing at you. It makes me sick.

I was raised under the influence of the quote, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all." Seems that quote has evolved to, "If you don't have anything nice to say, post it for the world to read on social media." Being mean has become a trend.

The only way to change this is to be kind. Seriously. Tell a stranger their outfit looks awesome or their hair looks great. Ignore that shady comment on Facebook. Don't fuel the fire. Let them think they won. Fighting on the internet doesn't make you look cool. Getting likes on social media for being a hateful person will not add any substance to your life. Do better. Be better. Stop spreading hate. Enough is enough.