That was muttered to me by Bruce Gray 20 years ago. I had said or done something in the true fashion of being me.

In the last few years, I’ve really tried to take that simple advice to heart in dealing with people. I try. Sometimes I fail, but I try. Social media has become so damn toxic.

Last night, I was looking at the IG account of a well known, and well liked social media influencer in the firearms community. He posted a very classy post about Queen Elizabeth. There were several thousand comments that followed that were straight up hateful about the Queen’s death. He responded to a few of them just saying it was human decency that drove him to make the post as Britain is one of America’s allies. The comments then began to focus on him being a traitor to America, a “redcoat”, etc. and this guy has actually done a lot to further our Constitutional Rights.

I’m not preaching or lecturing anyone as I have been one of the worst offenders. But, it truly costs nothing to be kind to people.

You speak the truth here, for sure. I’m certainly a fellow offender. I’m also trying to “take the high road” wherever possible and striving to be kind.

I think I saw the same IG post you mentioned. The “traitor” and “redcoat” comments are ridiculous, yet in a sad way also not surprising given the venue.

I find myself spending less time on social media thanks to its potential for toxicity.

Well said, and thanks for the reminder, jones!

AMEN, Mr. Jones! We NEVER know what a kind word or how a randon act of kindness may change someone’s life. Just being nice to someone for 5 seconds may cause them to reconsider doing harm to themself. We never know…

Was reading about the Queen's visit to Williamsburg,Va in 1957, when a woke gal started in about England taking land, then some other woke idiot started in about England causing slavery in America.

Idiot, boring drivel. These kind of people hate themselves, wake up every day hating some one.

A kindness would be never having to see or hear these people.

quote:

The comments

Internet immunity and all that...

The hate and just common utter contempt for basic human decency that has come from the internet revolution will take a long, long time to repair.

I've had to stop reading a thread in another 2A forum I frequent because of the ignorance.

You don't have to be a royal follower, etc. (which I'm not) to recognize what an amazing woman and head of state the Queen was and show some damned respect instead of shitting all over a RIP thread.

-Rob

Seems many people have consumed hateful content their entire lives and it oozes from their pores.

"You are what you eat."

I do my best to "eat" healthy.

And it really is not hard to be kind and decent, but the "repaying kindness for evil" is a big struggle for me.

I tend to be a mirror.

case in point:
three weeks ago we visited a restaurant /bar three tiny towns away .

we made a special trip because we liked the waitress .

it was noon and i asked if it was ok to play the juke box since there were only two other patrons in the place at the time.

she asked if we were from Orion, and I said yes , she said she remembered us.

she said here's 12 free songs, thank you for the nice tip, last time.

you.

are welcome and thank you I replied.

if I have not learned anything else in this time on earth , I know for a fact that what goes around , comes around.

Nice story. Did not know there were juke boxes in restaurants these days. Good to know.

Amen, brother.

And I can also be an offender. I'll try harder.

quote:

Originally posted by jljones:
Social media has become so damn toxic.

.

You mean the place where one can go and say anything without the fear of being punched in the nose?

At least the Sniper in hiding out on the battlefield knows that there's indirect fire waiting for him.

Kindness and selflessness. These are characteristics of a refined individual.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Nice story. Did not know there were juke boxes in restaurants these days. Good to know.

its a tiny town, juke box, half dozen slot machines .

i guess bar and grill might be a better moniker

I had jury duty the first week of August. My number got picked to go, so I arrived just before 8:00 at the court house. All the other people were haphazardly mulling around outside when the deputy opened the door. I walked right up to the front, grabbed the door and held it for everyone else. I don’t have any idea why, but I figured it has to start somewhere.

Yep, Thnaks for posting thie!

Very true, and thanks for the reminder.

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle.”

I agree! It costs you nothing to make their day, and who knows, it might make the biggest deal in someone's life.
I hope and pray that everyone on this Forum has a great weekend!!

So many have been spun into a war-like state over the issues. And as we've seen here so many times; often everything is seen through a political lens. It's sad.

I truly believe that the AI behind social media feed curation drives this divide. More troubling, it's quite possible many of the posts you saw were bots. Seeded and released for some nefarious purpose. To drive apart allies perhaps? Or perhaps, it's just the worst in us, trained like an athlete to pounce.

Here and YouTube are the reach of my social media and I agree that IG, Facebook and others are just a breeding ground for hate.
I'm not gonna say that my shit doesn't stink because I've made some rude comments on YouTube at times. Most of the time I ignore or try to be decent.
As for comments about the Queen of England, I never met her. I didn't like or dislike her but I will say that she seemed like one of the better people on the planet.