Well, another myspace de-friending just happened to me. I am really starting to wonder if I surround myself with hypocritical idiots or if there is something about ME that is the problem. Hopefully it is not me. Please let me know what you think about this situation.
So a few years ago we had two educational assistants on our team that worked with two boys that needed one-on-one aides. They were both sweet, happy, older women (like 40s-50s). Both of them are on myspace, so I am friends with both of them. The one who I am going to talk about ended up taking a job at the end of that year as a secretary in another school district. I really didn't stay in contact with her after that, she was just my "myspace friend." She is a Christian, but she has done some things in her personal life that I won't go into that make her a bit of a hypocrite. Because of these things, she was a VERY big supporter of Scarlett leaving her husband to be with Nathan. That's irrelevant, but I feel like mentioning it anyway. Anyway, she is the kind of person who posts things about God and whatnot, and I have never had any sort of problem with her. I don't really know her that well, but we have always been friendly.
So anyway, I don't know if you have seen The New Yorker cover? It is controversial because it depicts Obama and his wife in the oval office, and she has a gun in her hand and he is dressed in a way that makes him look like he is Muslim. So basically it is making them look like they are terrorists, since that's the big conspiracy theory, right? I find it offensive, but I also thought immediately that it must be a satire of some kind. Well, a few days ago, this woman posted a myspace bulletin of the cover. Below it she wrote, "The truth shall set you free." Um. Yeah. So at first I just thought I should ignore it, even though I thought it was offensive. I then read an article in The New York Times about it, and about how people haven't really been making fun of Obama, perhaps because they are worried that they will be deemed racist. It said that there was controversy over the cover even though it was meant as a satire, and even John McCain said he would understand if Obama found it offensive...now I know you are never supposed to discuss politics, but she put up her bulletin on a political matter, and I felt I had the right to respond. I tried to respond in a respectful manner:
Hey _______,
According to The New York Times, the cover was meant as a satire to make fun of the accusations that Obama is a Muslim. I personally find it offensive, and even John McCain was quoted as saying he understood if Obama was offended by it. I'm not trying to start an argument about politics, but I felt like I needed to tell you how I felt about seeing that bulletin.
Maybe I could have been more diplomatic, and maybe it came across differently than I meant. I mean, I feel like she was making herself look like an idiot because she clearly thought that the cover was trying to say that he IS a Muslim who will do horrible things if he gets elected. Regardless of what her political beliefs are, she is making herself look like a racist/xenophobe/etc. I also do find it offensive, and I felt like I needed to say so (by not saying so aren't you just saying you agree it is okay?) Anyway...she did not respond to my message, and she took me off of her myspace friends. It hurt my feelings. Even though I am not really friends with this woman, it made me feel bad. It also just makes me feel like she is such a hypocrite. So YOU get to talk about politics and spout your views, but if someone dares to disagree with you, you will remove them from your circle of friends? Obviously, a real friend would not do this (although my other myspace de-friending was from someone who I considered a real friend before). I don't get it...maybe she didn't want to deal with drama and she thought that I was trying to create it, but I wasn't. I was just trying to tell her my opinion. It's funny how people who are opinionated often can't handle hearing another point of view...ugh.
Was I wrong? Should I have realized that she was not going to change her mind regardless of anything I said? Was I condescending or rude when I stated my opinion? Maybe I was...
Nothing else too exciting is going on. I am sad The Bachelorette is over, but I have been watching So You Think You Can Dance, Swingtown, and Big Brother 10. Swingtown is actually pretty good (not great, but good). I wonder if anyone else is watching it...
