A Bitchin Saturday...

I've been on a recent tangent of cleansing my facebook newsfeed from lies and misrepresentation and internet junk.

Which you might think means I'm chucking people out my friend group, when in reality, it just means I'm posting a lot of snope.com links on peoples shared internet stories [the ones we used to be spared of on facebook, because elderly relatives used to only have e-mail].

It got me thinking though.  About how much information there is out in the world, and how we often do a crap job of doing the research to see if it's true or not.

And how freakin gullible we are.  I mean, seriously.  Do you know how many times I've seen the post of Bill Gates wanting to give everyone who likes the page a gazillion dollars, or the free ipad link.... we are somehow smart enough to not believe that bad shit will happen to us if we don't forward this onto 18 of our friends, but we're not smart enough to realize this is not, and never will be true [if you're looking for that, you have to get yourself onto a screening of Oprah or Ellen, duh].... [also: can you seriously NOT tell that it was photoshopped!!!  Honestly?!?!].

Full disclosure, if you have shared this, I'm automatically going to assume whatever political posts you have made, or believe in, you haven't done your research about that either.

That's right.

I said it.

Do your damn research!  There are honest truthful research capabilities with the internet!  Don't be that gullible, easily manipulated, lazy person who gets all passionate and bent out of shape about stuff they read on the internet, without first doing your research.

I'm in no way asking you to change your beliefs, but I AM asking you to freakin know why you believe them, and if the reasons you believe them are TRUE stories, and TRUE information and TRUE facts.

I don't know why there is so much untruth out there, but I am amazed at how a fabricated story can spread like wildfire.

-mrp-

ps: Thank the LORD my one grandfather never had e-mail; I'm sure I would have daily reads and links about the minutemen of which he was a long time financial supporter.

pps: I'm particularly fond of how in the second photo, the origin of the story is from a facebook group called "People are Fucking Dumb".... so so true internet.... they're so dumb they are sharing your fictitious story over and over and over again... so dumb.

pps: years ago, we were excited to get the mail because there would be cards, and letters, and real communication in them!  Then that was inundated with crap credit cards applications, sales shit, and other stuff that automatically goes into the recycle bin in my house... Then we had e-mail, and it was so much fun e-mailing back and forth to friends and family and having access to quickly interact with people through words... Then that got clogged up to where I now have four e-mails, and two of them are used solely for junk mail and forwards.  And then we had facebook, and it was awesome, and we got to see pictures, and stalk boys we liked and could end our wondering about their relationship status with a click of our mouses... and now that's clogged up too.  Which does make me wonder what the next thing will be.  I suppose we have text messaging [which a couple companies that have my digits actually text me info (a tanning place and target)].  But what will be next?

ppps: this also sort of makes me want to come up with my own bad advice, etc and see it go viral.  But that would just make me cringe at the illogical-ness of people.