Cyberspace Wars: Fighting On The Internet

It was a good 30 minutes before I realized that I had wasted unnecessary time reading unconvincing exchanges between a group of strangers on Twitter. The topic of debate isn’t worth mentioning. What boggled my mind was that one person’s point and a few disagreeable replies morphed into a full-scale cyber-riot, riddled with witty retorts, expletives and derogatory epithets.

It was like driving by a car accident; it was gruesome, but I couldn’t turn away.

Then there was a line that brought me back to reality: one tweeter said that another was lucky that he wasn’t in front of him so he could “whoop his ass”.

And that’s what it all comes down to, safety and security in proximity and in many cases, anonymity.

People waste valuable (at least I hope one’s time is considered valuable) time and energy, fighting with people they don’t know and will probably never meet, for hours on end. And for what? Bragging rights? Peace of mind? “Laugh”, “100” and “Fire” emojis of approval from onlookers?

Let me make this perfectly clear: Fighting on the internet is as effective as physically lashing out on…

…wait or it…

NOBODY!

Why on earth are you stressing over someone who doesn’t pay your bills, satisfy your needs or tuck you into bed at night?

And what exactly DO people argue about on social media? You name it…

• Poor officiating during sports events
• So-and-so’s latest album (can we still say “album”?)
• The meaning/misinterpretation of “Black Lives Matter”
• The inability to detect homicidal tendencies in active shooters
• Which celebrity married whoever and how “we” disapprove
• Child discipline: Getting “Time Out” vs “Knocked Out”
• Who got jilted and who won the fight on “The Bachelorette”
• God’s existence
• If Rose had enough room for Jack at the end of “Titanic”
• G.O.A.T. debates like Michael Jordan vs. LeBron James
• Roe vs Wade
• Trump vs Obama Administrations
• Prince vs Michael Jackson
• Popeyes vs Chick-fil-A
• Popeye vs Bluto
• and on and on and on…

Me? I find the Jordan/James debate to be rather fascinating. Having lived in both eras and watched both athletes, I find the argument to be nonsensical. Two incredible athletes, playing on two entirely different teams, under different league rules and conditions, in different eras, against different opponents. So using stats as a reference is ridiculous in my opinion. It very well could be apples to oranges. For the record, I think Jordan was better and can make an argument all day, but here’s the thing: at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Whatever I say, it’s highly unlikely that I’ll change the mind of a LeBron fan, especially one that never watched Michael play, “game in – game out”. Film highlights will never paint a definitive enough picture. So why fight about it? In the end, the Chicago Bulls won 6 championships and I witnessed them all, so I’m feeling just fine.

Does that help you understand my point? I couldn’t care less. And even IF a logical argument and conclusion were reached… (press rewind – press play) …”I couldn’t care less”. A half hour of arguing and insulting one-another’s intelligence, in my opinion, is a display of a LACK of intelligence. I’m not about to undo the effects of my blood pressure pills because you disagree with something I said. Life is too short and I’m sure some of you are eager to get back to watching “unscripted” Reality TV where people fight for real, not at all encouraged by the show’s producers (note the sarcasm).

In the end, it’s like this: If I have a point to make, I’ll make it and move on. If you disagree, that’s fine, say what you will. But don’t do be surprised or upset if my reply to you is “thank you for your input/feedback – God bless you”.

What do you think? Do you agree or disagree with what I had to say about fighting on social media? In your opinion, what should someone do if-

Wait. This is one time I’m not soliciting a response…

…and you know why…

…I couldn’t care less.

(Actually I do, but it was fun to say – lol)

Until next time!