Be Ye Not So Judgy

I am not a judge. But I have played a judge (at least) three times on stage in Sweeney Todd, The Chalk Garden, and Parade.

I have also played a Pharisee and a Sea Captain. So, sort of the same thing.

And we all know that Santa knows who has been naughty and nice.

All this to say that I think I’ve got some room to say that some of y’all just need to lighten up with the judgmental attitudes on Facebook.

Hear me out.

I started thinking about this post last week when everyone was posting their senior pictures from high school.

I hesitated for a bit. For one reason, I’m not sure where my yearbooks are. But then I remembered a box of photos my Mom had given me some time back. I found the photo, posted it with the disclaimer that I doubted any current high school seniors really cared about my photo.

Then came the Facebook hall monitors. How dare we post something that only reminds seniors of what they won’t have?

Okay, I kinda get the point. But as I said to someone who pulled his photo based on the berating he had received from a minister.

A. Minister.

I said that I thought the original poster of the senior photos had good intentions. They were trying in perhaps their own awkward way to add some levity to the situation. Perhaps it was an idea not fully thought out.

Either that or a communist plot.

But, was it really that bad?

I mean, show me on the doll where the senior picture hurt you.

Too soon?

But before the photos we were suddenly getting berated for posting funny comments about our quarantine weight gain. After all, some people really struggle with their weight.

I’m one of them.

But, I personally thought the posts were funny. I still think they’re funny.

In these times of social distance, we can use all the laughter we can get.

The problem is that some people just can’t find the humor in something and go on.

Twice this week on Facebook, I shared memes. I thought they were hysterical. I still do.

But the first turned in to a political rant from the left about the evils of Fox News.

I deleted it.

The next day, a different post started a political rant from the right about how COVID19 is a hoax and how the lockdown is ridiculous.

I deleted it.

For what it’s worth, the virus is most definitely serious, but I fall in the time to open back up category…slowly and carefully.

However, I realize that I live in the state that’s likely to be at the end of that opening up schedule.

I digress.

Here we are nearing the end of week five (for me anyway) of working from home and not going anywhere.

I’ve tried to be productive. I’ve taken multiple online courses. And oh, there are some stories about the use of technology. Or actually the inability to make use of technology.

But, that’s another post…or perhaps a script.

Again I digress.

We’re all tired. We’re all worried.

But we can’t seem to agree on the fact that the virus is dangerous and scary, but that the pending economic disaster is also dangerous and scary.

So, I try to post some chuckles on social media.

Sometimes, I’ll play the silly games.

And yes, I’ve seen the warnings about playing those games and giving up too much information. The way I see it, most of that information has already been collected, and I don’t use any of those answers for my passwords anyway.

Please don’t lecture me about that in the comments. Or on Facebook.

What I’m getting around to is that maybe, just maybe we should all be a little less preachy, a little less judgy on Facebook.

You want an argument? Head over to Twitter. That place is a cesspool.

How do I know that? Mind your own business.

We’re all cooped up. I’m at the end of week…it’s five…right?…and I’m pretty sure that I have that many more to go.

I’ve settled into a routine. But one of those routines is finding things to laugh at.

I’ve quoted Lina Lamont before.

If we bring a little joy into your humdrum lives, it makes us feel as though our hard work ain’t been in vain for nothin’. Bless you all.

Please don’t tell me you don’t know who Lina is.

Look, I have a Graduate Degree in Smart-Assery. It’s really a challenge not to be able to fully use it.

If only you knew the comments and memes that I didn’t post…

So if I can show some restraint, then so can you.

If I make a blatantly political statement (and I very rarely do), then that’s fair game for comment.

If I post a meme that triggers you (left or right), just click that little mousey thing and move on.

It’s just that simple.

I won’t judge you if you don’t.

But, I might block you.


Cover Photo by Bill Oxford on Unsplash

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