It’s All Fun & Games…

…until somebody loses an eye.

Remember that gem? I’m sure my parents rolled that one out a time or two when I was finally doing something active. I’ve always been risk adverse. Better safe than sorry has been my life’s mission statement.

Yeah, sometimes I think I was born old…

But I want to change this saying to fit our wonderful social media age. I think it should be ‘it’s all fun and games until we need the people we’re making fun of’.

Because as much as I like to think I don’t need people sometimes life is much easier with people. Most of the time they were people I had just met. People who were capable of empathy, capable of being decent, friendly human beings, capable of showing someone respect just because and without judgement.

In other words, not my family…

Now, though, we have a whole generation of people who think it’s acceptable to poke fun at others because they need support, because they seek that support on social media, all the while the pokers are just looking for attention. Attention for their looks.

It is all superficial bull shit – pardon my French.

You may be wondering what prompted this rant. I fell for it. I fell for someone’s ‘don’t I look fabulous while my world’s falling apart’ post. See, when someone posts something about their ‘world falling apart’ I feel a pang of empathy.

I know what it’s like to feel that way. To feel lost and alone. So even though I don’t agree with people sharing every tragedy, every problem online, I get it. I know I over-shared for quite a few years looking for anyone and everyone who would understand, who might be able to lessen the pain. I am still grateful that my ‘world fell apart’ well before the Internet and social media was a thing.

Ugh, that would have been bad.

And come to find out, this person’s world wasn’t crumbling. It was all a joke. All poking fun at someone. I suppose I should mention this person – the one poking fun – has also made fun of me, in person.

I can take it. I’ve been bullied and laughed at by the best – or maybe I should say worst – so that doesn’t bother me so much. No, what bothers me is when they do it to someone else. Someone who may or may not be able to take it.

Because, people, transparency is a myth. We don’t know what’s going on inside of other people based on their looks or demeanor. We can’t. Because we could do real damage just by making a ‘harmless’ joke. Because someday – even if we don’t think it’s possible – we’re going to need people.

Otherwise our lives are so superficial they’re meaningless…

I don’t know about you but that’s the real tragedy. To go through life making fun of what we don’t understand, hurting people while we’re oblivious of their pain, never making the kind of connections that will make us better people.

So, yeah, it’s all fun and games until we need the people we’re making fun of.