Stay Off Social Media... The "Fame" is Not Worth the Peril

Roseanne Barr went down in flames yesterday after tweeting a racially charged post about Valerie Jarrett.  The event was so minor and its consequences so major; not just to her but to the cast that was forming plans to make a living from the work her new show provided.  It's all so tragic because it was SOOOO avoidable.  Stay off social media (says the guy putting this out for the world to see on his weblog).

We are ALL guilty of the most ill-advised, stupid, thoughtless remarks but they usually go out from our mouths to the ears of just those few who were standing with us when we said it.  Tweets and Instagram, and Facebook posts of those same dumb things go out for the whole world to hear.  

There are some photos in an album in my den.  They are from my days as a young soldier and some are gross.  Some are obscene.  Some are in very poor taste.  But they are private and not out on the web for the world to see.

Our pathological need to have the world hear us has driven us to post automatically.  Like a Pavlovian reflex.  It's caused criminals to post videos of their crimes.  It’s made people boast of their bad behavior, not realizing it only makes the bad behavior look worse because you seem so proud of it at the time you sent out a video of your account of the incident.  

It’s different from the things others record us doing.  Road rage recorded and broadcast that becomes admissible in court.  Domestic disputes filmed by neighbors.  Quarrels between neighbors.  Dad picking his nose at a ball game.  These are bad but they are the risk we must take when we go out into the world where everyone can record everyone else.  I’m talking about the self-inflicted wounds like Roseanne's.  Or Anthony Weiner. Or any of another hundred that happen monthly.

Just stop and think.  Not EVERYTHING we do is share-worthy.  Not everything you have to say is anything others would want to hear.  Stop falling on your own sword.  Because the PC monster is now roaming the street looking to bring you down.  We grew it in a lab of teaching our kids to be unforgiving of others shortcomings.  It grew large and ravenous in it's cage as they grew into adults filled with a sense of self righteous indignation at the ills of every institution or person around them.  It broke out of the lab and began roaming the streets devouring any and all that carried the faintest trace of flaw in character as these people became rigid and unforgiving in their assessment that we should all be judged and hounded for the worst aspects of our character.  No matter how many poor people we feed or how many orphans we clothe.  Not matter how many good deeds we do... if we ever said the word ni**er when angry or upset (especially if it’s recorded) we are DONE.  Just ask Paula Deen or Michael Richard (aka Kramer from Seinfeld).