Hi Folks,

I was just thinking how annoying our society has gotten. Instead of striving to "understand" each other, we seem to look hard for any excuse to misunderstand. And it's costing us all our freedom, even though I doubt many realize it.

This goes beyond Political Correctness, but that certainly is a huge part of the problem. People look for the loopholes in what anyone says and does to push their agenda. If your political enemy tries to make a point, but doesn't say it with great caution and defensive protection from all possible negative interpretations, they are bludgeoned and relentlessly attacked for it. And if someone says something that is actually offensive or politically incorrect, and they aren't in a minority or underdog status, they are finished in society. People jump on the pile to inflict the greatest possible damage And the sad thing is that while they do it, these people KNOW it's bogus and unfair, but they dont' care. All sides are guilty of this.

I got 2 nasty emails from members (actually more than that, but these two make my point). One was pissed off that I had typo'd "Southwest" instead of "Southeast" in the last newsletter when referring to the roadtrip. This person said they were "offended" because they lived in the Southwest and the states listed were clearly not in the southwest. I am not making this up. Another member complained because I copied and pasted their name without a single letter in it. The letter wasn't even a letter, it was an ampersand. It's one thing to point out a typo (which is pointless for the most part because EVERYONE makes typos and most of those who complain will make a typo in their actual complaint.. but I digress) but another to get angry over it, especially when you have an odd spelling of your name that no one would think was correct with an ampersand at the start. Argh!

Politicians, journalists, civil rights leaders, religious groups, ethnic groups, age segments and so on all use parsing of words as a weapon. It's maddening. But most of us, at some point, will take that easy road to try and discredit those we disagree with. Why do we do it?

So, when was the last time you were a victim or perpetrator of this activity?

Brian

PS: This post was not checked for errors! Don't even go there!

Brian Austin Whitney
Founder
Just Plain Folks
jpfolkspro@gmail.com
Skype: Brian Austin Whitney
Facebook: www.facebook.com/justplainfolks

"Don't sit around and wait for success to come to you... it doesn't know the way." -Brian Austin Whitney

"It's easier to be the bigger man when you actually are..." -Brian Austin Whitney

"Sometimes all you have to do to inspire humans to greatness is to give them a reason and opportunity to do something great." -Brian Austin Whitney