Different people like sports for different reasons. Most of the time it's a social event, getting together over a couple of cold ones to forget about life, root for a common cause, and according to some research I've read, get away from women. Whether that last part is true or not, sometimes the practice of watching sports makes fans passionate in one way or another.
Passion is all well and good until it becomes outright stupidity. With the advent of social networking and the gravity that it holds as a 24/7, 365 place of discussion, this marketplace of ideas has become an overpopulated haven for hate and disdain due to simple statements held by just about anyone. Opinion leaders, media members, people of interest and even fellow peers are all easy targets for hate that simply should not exist.
These arguments could be over subjects as simple as word choice, an opinion with plenty of validity (or not), and hot button issues. Social networking has given everyone in the world a pedestal about any issue. Sometimes certain people shouldn't be given this pedestal due to the hatred that they possess for their fellow man, granted a false sense of power over some new social norms that mean absolutely nothing in the grand scheme of things.
Gaining following on Twitter early on is tough. Some newbies put out tremendous ideas as well as make respectful, constructive conversation with others. Then, they hit the point when they find the power. The idea that 1,000 people subscribe to their ideas earned them some sort of distinction. They turn violently from respectful towards their peers to high and mighty. Their ideas become indestructible.
Those who oppose these supposed new "opinion leaders" become the bad guys—the "haters" that seek to win some sort of territorial battle of which there is no territory to win, and no battle to win either. It's pointless chatter that in the grand scheme of things, means absolutely nothing. It's speculation.
Social networking has completely killed our social norms. I had a conversation with someone a month ago about how we are truly glued to our devices. It's true. I'm no different. I do place a lot of value in being connected to the world, to stay on top of things and try and be a respected voice in life. I try my best to be respectful to others. I don't think too much of my follower count, or how much I tweet.
However, we've hit a point where the Internet is a battleground. Sometimes it's hard to stay respectful towards people who aren't respectful towards you. It's hard to stay close to the morals we were taught as kids. We're forced to defend ourselves, to assert our territory that we simply don't have. Why do we have to fight? Why can't we come to an understanding?
I find that last question comes up a lot in the scope of my life, but it's true. Why can't we? Why do we have to fight over something that isn't even close to in our control? Whether or not Shea Weber's deal would be matched by Nashville, whether or not Obamacare is a good idea, whether or not Lebron James is worth all the hype that he receives, whether or not we should vote for one candidate or the other, the controversies in life breed hate because of this pedestal that all of us are granted.
Twitter dangerously asks "What's happening?" Facebook more perilously asks "What's on your mind?" This is simply bait into the hateful discussion. This isn't social networking. It's social annihilation. Friendships are ruined more-so than gained over constant connection. I've found that no one cares about the instagrammed picture of your burger and fries. Nobody cares about your song lyrics. There's no need to know.
I've run through my mind almost endlessly, "what is my purpose on Twitter?" "Who am I broadcasting to? The hockey fan? The person who likes my perspective?" I asked a few professional broadcasters about what they think their role is. They didn't really have a solid answer. I guess it's kind of a personal discovery.
I have a challenge for people. If you don't agree, don't attack. Discuss. If you don't particularly like someone, don't belittle. Try to come to an understanding. There's no territory to be gained or argument to be won here. Followers are arbitrary. We know people buy them to make them look big. They aren't. There is no proof in follower count. Only in character.
At this point, social networking is impossible to avoid. It's here, and will forever be here. We'll always be connected from this point forward. I don't think its creators believed it could be this bad, but it has hit a tipping point. Is there a need for gatekeeping? Is there a need to remove people because of hateful content? Perhaps we give our First Amendment rights here in America too little respect.
I know this sounds pontificating, and honestly, this is simply my perspective. But I see social norms crumbling, I see friendships being destroyed, I see connections being ruined because of a mindless sense of territory. There is no need for this. Truly.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Displaced Hate
This is an excerpt from Stephen Christian's blog post, "how very fragile." on modesty.blogspot.com.
"Sometimes I let my mind wander to the events of the day of a person who loses their life. They wake up, like every other day and brush their teeth, put on their favorite t-shirt, have a bowl of cereal, and on their way to work they stop at the gas station to fill up. Then it happens. Out of nowhere, and when they woke up just hours before they had no idea."
Scary.
This was the reality for several people in Aurora, Colorado, as during the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises, a gunman by the name of James Holmes shot and killed 12 people, as well as injuring 38 others. Lives, changed. Families, broken. Faith, shaken.
Holmes reportedly wore a bulletproof vest, donned a gas mask, and shot with a rifle and two handguns. So now, the media bites. It's near Columbine, it's about gun control, it's about affected youth, it's about the families, the sadness, the hate, the lunacy, and the completely unfortunate circumstances behind it all.
One victim's name came to the forefront early. Her name, Jessica Ghawi. She went by Jessica Redfield on Twitter. She planned to be a sports journalist, described as an "amazing...vivacious person" by herfriend Natalie Tejeda on CNN's Newsroom this afternoon. People that knew her on Twitter talked about how she had all the skills to become a prominent figure in the future.
I'm sure she did. To those who work hard, go above and beyond and who strive to be the best, that's when people recognize personal drive. Tejeda talked about how Ghawi's motto was that she wasn't here to come in second or third place. She wanted to be the best. I can easily relate to that. I know the feeling.
As a result of this shooting, it has blown up on social networking. People crying foul for change. People crying, grieving, staring reality in the face. Sometimes we need a break from these cruel realities, but when they come back, they ground us. People are people. We're reminded we don't deserve the hate and the gossip that we're all guilty of.
It just kills you inside when you realize you're not living for the right reasons sometimes. We should all be afforded the chance to live our dreams, at least for a day. The youngest victim of this unfortunate act was three months old. That person didn't even get a chance to live out any dreams, let alone many moments at all.
It all goes back to Christian's blog. They probably just went through normal circumstances, and in the span of moments, it was all over. Ghawi was on a date with a mutual friend, tweeting just moments before her death to Jesse Spector, a fellow hockey writer. Her last tweet was a sarcastic, loud cry that Spector said is like a haunting echo.
We may cry for change, but I think of it this way. It could be right, it could be wrong. Even if law exists or not, if people want something that bad, they will get it. Remember as a child, if mom said we couldn't have a cookie, and we wanted it that bad, what did we do? We knew we had the capacity to get the cookie, so we did everything we could to have it, and we had it, regardless of circumstances.
It's a basic instinct.
My thoughts, prayers, whatever have you, are going to the victims of this attack...the families of those whose lives were changed forever by the senseless act of killing fellow people.
What's the point of this all? Just live your life, and surround yourself with the people you want to be around. Try your best to find a way to love your enemy, because in the end, they're just people too. We're all human. We're all in this together, on the same planet in a vast universe.
I'm going to try my best to live my life as vivaciously as I can. I've learned that no matter what, I have to be me. You can love me, or you can hate me, but I will continue to go through life as Jordan Kuhns. That's how it began, and that's how it will end.
God bless.
"Sometimes I let my mind wander to the events of the day of a person who loses their life. They wake up, like every other day and brush their teeth, put on their favorite t-shirt, have a bowl of cereal, and on their way to work they stop at the gas station to fill up. Then it happens. Out of nowhere, and when they woke up just hours before they had no idea."
Scary.
This was the reality for several people in Aurora, Colorado, as during the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises, a gunman by the name of James Holmes shot and killed 12 people, as well as injuring 38 others. Lives, changed. Families, broken. Faith, shaken.
Holmes reportedly wore a bulletproof vest, donned a gas mask, and shot with a rifle and two handguns. So now, the media bites. It's near Columbine, it's about gun control, it's about affected youth, it's about the families, the sadness, the hate, the lunacy, and the completely unfortunate circumstances behind it all.
One victim's name came to the forefront early. Her name, Jessica Ghawi. She went by Jessica Redfield on Twitter. She planned to be a sports journalist, described as an "amazing...vivacious person" by herfriend Natalie Tejeda on CNN's Newsroom this afternoon. People that knew her on Twitter talked about how she had all the skills to become a prominent figure in the future.
I'm sure she did. To those who work hard, go above and beyond and who strive to be the best, that's when people recognize personal drive. Tejeda talked about how Ghawi's motto was that she wasn't here to come in second or third place. She wanted to be the best. I can easily relate to that. I know the feeling.
As a result of this shooting, it has blown up on social networking. People crying foul for change. People crying, grieving, staring reality in the face. Sometimes we need a break from these cruel realities, but when they come back, they ground us. People are people. We're reminded we don't deserve the hate and the gossip that we're all guilty of.
It just kills you inside when you realize you're not living for the right reasons sometimes. We should all be afforded the chance to live our dreams, at least for a day. The youngest victim of this unfortunate act was three months old. That person didn't even get a chance to live out any dreams, let alone many moments at all.
It all goes back to Christian's blog. They probably just went through normal circumstances, and in the span of moments, it was all over. Ghawi was on a date with a mutual friend, tweeting just moments before her death to Jesse Spector, a fellow hockey writer. Her last tweet was a sarcastic, loud cry that Spector said is like a haunting echo.
We may cry for change, but I think of it this way. It could be right, it could be wrong. Even if law exists or not, if people want something that bad, they will get it. Remember as a child, if mom said we couldn't have a cookie, and we wanted it that bad, what did we do? We knew we had the capacity to get the cookie, so we did everything we could to have it, and we had it, regardless of circumstances.
It's a basic instinct.
My thoughts, prayers, whatever have you, are going to the victims of this attack...the families of those whose lives were changed forever by the senseless act of killing fellow people.
What's the point of this all? Just live your life, and surround yourself with the people you want to be around. Try your best to find a way to love your enemy, because in the end, they're just people too. We're all human. We're all in this together, on the same planet in a vast universe.
I'm going to try my best to live my life as vivaciously as I can. I've learned that no matter what, I have to be me. You can love me, or you can hate me, but I will continue to go through life as Jordan Kuhns. That's how it began, and that's how it will end.
God bless.
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