Blogger: Michael Strange – “The No Filter Father”
As we enter the middle of March, I am officially a year older (thank you for all the kind birthday wishes), St. Patrick’s Day is in our rearview mirror, and spring is almost here.
Every March, we all spend a little time being college basketball fans for a few weeks. We fill out a bracket that we think is right but in all honesty we don’t know shit about college basketball. We just want to be apart of the office pool, and maybe win a little extra cash that will make up for the $400 you spent in Target when you were just going there to buy some toiletries and a case of water.
They call this tournament “March Madness”, and I started thinking about all the anger and madness there is in America today.
It’s everywhere. I see people angry in stores, on the streets, at sporting events, and especially in the news and all over social media. Are we really this angry at the world? Or do we all just miss the sounds of a friends laughter that will certainly put us in a better mood?
Let me start with social media. It is by far the easiest target which seems to end more friendships and marriages these days.
I have been on Facebook for over ten years. I still think it is wonderful. I was able to reconnect with old friends from high school, college, and even former coworkers that I couldn’t ever stand. I have never had any drama on social media. Never got mad at someone for their political beliefs or their views on life. I simply scroll past. But I see friends arguing all the time, mudslinging, and people genuinely mad at the world which ends up as their status.
Just the other day, I was scrolling through my newsfeed and I saw an angry post with an obscene hand gesture. What was it about? Other drivers on the road and their bad driving. The person that wrote the status is someone who never vents on social media. I never want to call a person out so let’s call this person, “Janis G”. What made this Janis character this mad to lash out in this very public way? Surely the other drivers were not going to see this post, and think I need to become a better driver.
I see a lot of people post things like Janis G. did. Many friends screaming about traffic, coworkers, neighbors, work, etc.. The worst is when people share their family problems on social media.
Then, there is my favorite…when people just type UGH!!!!!!!!!! So you are having a frustrating moment, and your first thought is “holy batshit, where the fuck is my phone? I need to put my anger into a message on social media”. Are you that needy? Is everyone on social media a masochist? Think about this. You want to tell the world UGH!!!! Rather than AHHHH!!!!
Most of these posts remind me of a time I was upset at work. I wrote a nasty email to a vendor. When I was done I stopped, reread the email, realized that I sounded like a jackass and deleted the email.
This is just a slight example of anger on social media. I see people turn off their accounts because they “can’t deal with all the bullshit on Facebook”. I see this a lot from one of my friends. I don’t want to name names, so let’s call this friend “Pam”. I’ll see these messages from “Pam”, and I’ll be a little concerned. I’ll text her and ask her what’s wrong? She typically says “Facebook Drama”, and I just shake my head.
If you want to hear an asshole, just fart. Do not get caught up in drama online that will make you angry at work or at home. It magnifies everything that you do. If you really want to make yourself angry, google how much the Kardashian’s earned last year, that’ll piss you off.
This is why I like Instagram. Because all I am on there for is to look at scantily dressed woman and earthpix. Earthpix is the best. Check them out. The pictures are amazing. It makes me want to travel the world and see all these amazing places. But I quickly realize I have two kids, and they are not travel companions at this point, so, oh well, I guess I’m not going.
Sorry, I got off the subject a little there.
It doesn’t stop there. I read threads on political issues posted on Twitter. I am not a tweeter. I actually think Twitter is insanely stupid, but I have an account and I use mainly to chat with my Los Angeles Chargers fans (I’m such a dork). But Twitter is very fast with news.
I follow a few really left-wing people and some right-wingers. When they post things there are usually hundreds of comments. Now, this is where I entertain myself (not in that way people). I read all the arguments, and you can begin to see how people get really worked up. And I’m picturing them pounding the keyboard as they are going back and forth. I laugh to myself. I can tell these people are angry, and taking things very personally. And why??? You don’t know the other person that you are arguing with. Who gives a flying fuck what someone in Topeka thinks. People just want to pick fights, take offense to anything that is said that they do not believe in. People, take it easy. Go get a fucking jigsaw puzzle.
This is why I believe that social media is causing more headaches than you ever thought possible. In short, people just need to relax on social media. Its main purpose is to show the world that you can cook, brag about where you vacation, and how your children are doing.
But it doesn’t stop with social media. Oh no. I see it everywhere. It only gets worse when you think about the current state of the country. It just seems like people want to argue. I honestly believe that if the Democratic Party said that we need to build a wall right now, the Republican Party would stop and say that we shouldn’t do it. Just so they could argue about it some more. If the politicians could stop throwing stones (quoting the Grateful Dead there) at each other for a little while, I honestly believe the level of anger and hate would drop in this country.
Sporting events are another story. Grown men fighting about sports? Here’s the thing you idiots, you get nothing from it. The athletes make millions and don’t care about you as a fan. The Yankees are not going to give me a championship ring if I beat up a Red Sox fan. Last year a pregnant woman was choked after a football game in Pittsburgh (a Chargers fan nonetheless). The Pittsburgh Steelers banned the fan from attending games. Take that, you dipshit. Here’s an idea: go sleep on it!
Is it because it is winter, and people are getting stir crazy? Maybe. When I was living in dreary old Manhattan, during the winter there would be fighting in the subway and fighting on the streets in crosswalks. People seemed to be much more pissed off in the winter, rather than summer. Maybe summertime in Central Park cures everyone’s anger?
Is there really that much anger/ hate in this world? What can we do to stop it? Remember people, everything has a solution as long as you have a positive attitude/mood.
My next blog will be in the spring when people are a little less crazy. Me? I will still be the three H’s.
Blog update: in my January blog I mentioned that my son was throwing his dirty socks all over the house, and I would get him to put them in the hamper. I’m still working on it. And yes this makes me a little upset.
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Native New Yorker, now living in Connecticut. Husband, and father of two amazing boys. Kidney transplant recipient, and a big supporter of organ donation #donatelife. Mortgage banker, but not by choice. In my free time, I enjoy golf, reading (especially presidential biographies), and finding that hole in the wall restaurant that has great food.
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