Alexandra Bogdanovic's Blog: That's life... - Posts Tagged "comments"

In an unprecedented act of narcissism, I recently quoted myself on Twitter - twice.
Judging by the number of followers I've lost since then, some people weren't too impressed. I suppose that should bother me, but it doesn't.
Having said that, I was pleasantly surprised to see that one of my quotes resonated with a couple of people who were kind enough to "favorite" and re-Tweet it.
For the record, the quote they liked was simply, "Common decency cannot prevail where it does not exist."
Given such a broad statement, one might think I was referring to the lack of civility among politicians or the lack of manners among holiday shoppers. I was actually referring to the continuing lack of common decency and civility online.
All one has to do is visit the comment section following any online article to find people engaged in bad behavior. Mutual hostility manifests itself in name-calling, foul language and other brands of verbal abuse.
This activity is especially rampant in the comment sections following certain news stories, especially those pertaining to politics. However, poor behavior isn't limited to that realm. Trash-talking among sports fans is par for the course, and I've seen some pretty nasty comments (bordering on all-out vitriol) on home-decorating blogs.
There's no need to discuss what transpires on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter... Sadly that speaks for itself.
And while much is made about the effects of poor online behavior, specifically cyber bullying, on children and teens, the fact is that adults are just as guilty, if not more so than young young people of engaging in unacceptable behavior on the Internet.
So as the U.S. politicians debate the merits of "Net neutrality," the proposed rules meant to regulate Internet access costs, the fact remains there is no way the government, Internet administrators or anyone else can regulate the far more pressing issue that is the lack of civility online.
In the end, it is up to us to regulate our own behavior on the Internet and in society at large. I just hope common sense will prevail.
Until next time, "That's life..."

I've got to be honest. I had no idea what I was going to write about this week. Until just now.
I just remembered a comment someone made on another social media site. The person who made it did so in the midst of a rather heated conversation about the use of books (that an interior decorator had purchased by the yard to style a beautiful set of built-in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves). The comment that sparked my anger was something completely idiotic like: "I don't understand why some people keep the books they do. Once you've read it, you've read it."
Of course I couldn't let that go. And of course it warranted a snarffy response. Of course I delivered one.
I said, in no uncertain terms, that the comment was a deep, profound, insightful testament to the stupidity and wastefulness of a throw-away society. Or something like that.
I added that I certainly don't keep every book I read. But those that I do keep are well-read. And every time I re-read them, I find something new on every page.
How about you? Do you keep all of the books you buy or just some of them? What are your criteria for keeping books? What are your criteria for giving them away?
What do you do once you decide you no longer want them? Do donate them, trade them in at a local book swap, or relegate them to the recycling bin?
Let me know... It might make some interesting fodder for future blog.
But it's late so I'd better sign off for now.
Until next time, "That's life..."

I would like to think that my parents raised me well. I would like to think that being an only child and a first-generation American raised in a multicultural household helped make me the person I am today. I would like to think that being exposed to people from different countries, religions and socioeconomic strata at a young age taught me tolerance.
But there are some things that I simply cannot and will not tolerate. I have no patience for stupidity, hypocrisy, arrogance, ignorance, bullies or cowards of any kind -- especially those of you who engage in hateful behavior and shameless vitriol while hiding behind a computer screen.
So imagine my disgust when I read one of my favorite blogs this morning. In today's post, the author said that she'd gotten a lot of negative responses to her last entry -- one in which she expressed reservations about voting in U.S. elections. From what she told us, some people called her a "retard." Some even said that that they hoped she would die.
So now I am talking directly to those of you who engage in that kind of behavior. Yeah, you know who you are. Please don't pretend otherwise. It insults my intelligence -- and it makes me mad.
Anyone who knows me well knows that I am the sweetest, nicest, most wonderful person on the face of the earth -- until you make me mad. And then I am a nasty bitch -- so you probably don't want to do that.
But I digress. The bottom line is that it's easy to think you're all big and tough when you're sitting at a computer. Yeah, you're such a big talker -- such a know-it-all. You probably think you're the smartest person in the room, which is pretty pathetic considering you're probably sitting by yourself with no friends, no social life, a dead end job and a dead end life. Does calling someone names and putting them down make you feel better?
Let me tell you something: If someone says something you disagree with or you don't like and your first reaction is to call them names or use foul language or put them down, it speaks volumes about your lack of intelligence, among other things. Ordinarily, I wouldn't even waste my time or my breath on anyone like you -- but as a wise man once said, all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
If you don't know who said it, look it up. It's on the Internet.
Until next time, "That's life..."