The Love/Hate/ Karma Relationship With Facebook.

I love Facebook. I love, love, love Facebook. Facebook is my open mike for comedy standup, sometimes my soapbox for issues I feel passionate about, and sometimes it is my bomber plane whereby I drop a tidbit and let my Facebook friends duke it out.

When I first started Facebooking (is that a word?), I kept my friends list to 60. When it grew beyond that, I played Sophie’s Choice and eliminated friends. Then, I started reconnecting with friends from my old neighborhoods, high school and elementary school. I took up running and had running friends I needed to keep in touch with; suddenly the list zoomed over 400. Now, I’m not bragging about that, I’m just amazed that there are that many people that I’ve added or accepted to my friends list.

Of course, with that many “friends” there are different religions, political leanings, levels of sensitivity, well, you get the point. We all have them: beliefs, likes and dislikes. For a long while, I worried that my posts might offend. Well, I still worry about that. To be honest, in my mind I think  I’m often saying what others are thinking.

I have a seriously sick, sick, sick sense of humor. Sometimes it is gallows humor. Yes, I get zinged by friends for that. Well, just remember, I’m often the bomber pilot; dropping a comment and letting everyone else scramble with the fallout.

What led to this entry to the blog is that I mentioned that I hide profiles from “friends” on Facebook all the time. I can promise you, folks do that to me as well because they don’t want to see my drivel. I’m perfectly comfortable with that. First, I don’t know you have hidden me, blocked me, or even kicked me off your list altogether. I have a love/ hate (all in a good way) relationship with a girlfriend. I have deleted her, added her, deleted her and added her. Her current status is delete. Holy running blisters, she must do a daily headcount of her friends, because on the last delete I did of her, she texted me asking why I deleted her. Yikes, that is some serious Facebook insecurity.

I’m cynical at times, snarky at times, funny at times, remorseful at times, empathetic at times, and sympathetic at times. Anyone that knows me well, not the 400+ Facebook friends, but my true friends and family members, know me well enough to understand some quip I add, or comment I make. Note to you folks, read between the lines. If you don’t get me, it might be because you don’t truly know me. I might not truly know you: for instance….

I have re-connected with a plethora of high school class mates. Many reconnects were as a result of our recent high school reunion…Go Tigers! So now I have those new reconnect classmates in the 400+. Suddenly, you/they are reading my posts, all well and good. I am reading yours as well. I have found that some of the posts are not my cup o tea. Perhaps mine are not yours/theirs either. So, rather than hurt feelings I have hidden your/their posts. Not a big deal. It keeps my feed user friendly. I do invite you to do the same. Or delete me. I don’t care; I won’t call you out, hell I won’t know. Life is toooooo short. Facebook is a communication tool. It is not a “get your panties in a wad” tool.

 I suppose in some of these reconnects I recognize why maybe we weren’t friends in high school, or back in the hood in the good ole days.Now, don’t sit there wondering if I’m talking to you or about you. That is entirely too much depth to read into this entry. It is just a Widow comment.

I don’t care if your get on your soapbox. Those boxes are free and available for everyone’s use. I use mine often. I don’t care if you get on your high horse, go for it. Life is too short, but please if you are in conflict with a family member. Have some self pride and keep that dirty laundry to yourself. The moment a Facebook friend in the 400+ goes down that clothesline…yup…hidden…I don’t need the drama.

If you see my feeds, you know I love the crazy inane headlines and like to poke fun. But then, my fun may be your Achilles heel…sorry, please forgive! Lately, I have been on a tangent about the weird news from Florida. I love Florida. I own a house there, but damn, there is some crazy crap that goes down there and makes the headlines. To the point, there is almost something every day.

I have friends who love to post about the weather; others share fuzzy kittens and religious platitudes. Post on my friends, who am I to censure you? If I get tired of shelter dogs up for adoption, I know how to remove them from my feed. I love kitties and puppies, but if I get tired of them I can hide them as well. I invite you to hide me; again, I have no dog in the fight, so to speak.

I will point out that as soon as I see a post that indicates liking that post will get a child a horse, a puppy, a cat, or if I see the same shared post over and over and over again: I hide it like a cat covering crap in a litter box. I feel I’m doing the Facebook world a favor. If my 400+ friends don’t see it on my page, there are less “likes and shares”. I share a few links now and then, but they have to be, in my estimation, a pretty special share. Sometimes I share it and tag someone because I know they want the information. Otherwise? HIDDEN!

So, much like the “reply all” email that drives everyone at work nuts and people respond with, please remove me, or stop replying all, which then sends out another gazillion emails….consider the likes and shares…I’ll do the same for you. And if you grow weary of me, I invite you to hide me.