Tuesday night, I was deep in thought at work when two servers came in to drop off plates and silverware. I overheard one saying to the other, "...I don't know. It's that whole rebellion thing against Disney I think. She's just trying to break out of that image."
It was a Miley Cyrus discussion. This was Tuesday night...there had been coworkers talking about this for two days now. TWO DAYS. I had spent the two days thinking over what I just posted. That's quite a jump from "emotional and mental struggle" to "OMG she kept sticking her tongue out!"
On Facebook, I saw a status update that said to shut the hell up about it already. I agree. Then I saw another one that said, "Enough about the VMAs! There are way more important things to talk about!"
Hm. Are there? I mean, I understand there are more important issues going on in the world. And I think there are way more important things that CNN could be covering instead of becoming Miley Cyrus' promotion machine.
But I ask you, is there anything actually important being discussed on Facebook? Is there really? I don't mean links of articles, blogs or posts that one might find informative, I mean discussions and comments from friends or their friends. I personally wish there was an app that blocked comments on every YouTube video, news article and blog update I view online, because nothing brings out ignorance and hate like the lack of restraint people have behind their phone or computer.
It's also that we like to talk out of our ass with very little knowledge or research of what we're bullshitting about. Some of the discussions I hear on the bus or at work are just...sad. I'd rather them talk about the flavor of the week pop singer or who is going to play a comic book character as opposed to, say, Syria.
(I strongly believe that hate cannot be defeated by hate. I also understand we can't invade Syria and give Bashar al-Assad a hug and fix shit. It hurts to read about possible chemical warfare used in that country, and how we're contemplating air raids. And yet, we apparently don't mind slaughter in Egypt as we don't want to intervene with a western ally. We shouldn't be comfortable with the deaths of civilians, regardless of their religion, political affiliation and regardless of the methods used by military power to kill.)
Now, when I think about Syria, about Egypt, the last thing I want to hear or read are the opinions of some of my "friends" and coworkers who recently vocalized their opinion passionately regarding little white girls twerking.
It's nice to be distracted by meaningless crap. I think it gives you a break from all the horrible things that go on daily that make you feel like you've lost hope in humanity. I get that feeling...and then somebody posts a video of a cat trying to fit in a tiny box unsuccessfully. "I needed that. Sweet. Okay, back to it."
I encourage everyone to keep themselves informed about what's going on in the world so that, if anything, we can maintain some perspective in our lives. Yes, I have anxiety issues and I need to over-analyze strange thought patterns and feelings I have, but I should be thankful for what I don't have to go through on a daily basis.
I also encourage everyone to keep themselves informed so that you don't sound like a moron who knows more about Honey Boo Boo than Edward Snowden.
But I think the bottom line is, I'd rather people talk about meaningless stuff they know about vs important stuff they don't know about. It's easier to ignore.
