Science has proven that the absolute best way to raise your blood pressure and increase the likelihood of getting ulcers is to read the “comments” section on your preferred internet news source. Doing so will make your blood boil and make you wonder why people have to be so mean.
Didn’t Mom always say that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all?
Of course, I’m essentially violating that maxim right here, so I guess I don’t really have a right to complain. Because as soon as I do complain, I’m doing the very thing I’m complaining about!
I just wonder if it’s possible for people to be a little kinder. Why do we have to lead with attacking another person’s viewpoint or even their choice to share their viewpoint at all?
It seems like we regularly define ourselves by what we don’t like. By posting a nasty comment about something that upsets me, I get a better sense of who I am, and let others know that I’m a person to be reckoned with. Good for me by being bad for you!
One of the more puzzling aspects of this phenomenon is that often the commentors are complaining about the provider of the article they’re commenting on, for instance, ranting about the editorial policies of the Washington Post on the Washington Post site. Wouldn’t it make more sense to simply not read the Post? Isn’t there something strange about blaming the publisher of an article that makes you mad? Why not just not read the article?
Readers of this site (if there are any), face a similar dilemma. However, it’s far easier to ignore the writings of someone who is so easy to ignore. So, perhaps, I’m providing an important public service here by having a website that is so undersubscribed. But publishing blog posts that no one reads, I’m showing people how not to read what they don’t need to.
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