I had a good friend in college who, when somebody managed to punk him (which was rare!) he’d get a very serious look on his face, point two fingers at his irritant and say, “you’re dead.” For a few seconds everybody went silent…waiting for what was next…then we usually burst out in laughter at the whole situation.
In the online world, it’s not always so easy to understand the intent behind someone’s words. There’s no facial expression, and sometimes no background info, to put the words into context. Here’s an example of a real life situation that happened on Twitter and involved some words that were taken a bit too literally. . .
Those of you who KNOW ME know the relationship I have with my daughters. You know the relationships you have with your children. Loving, frustrated, awed, annoyed, angry, blissful.
Tonight, as always, my evil mini-me did her “not going to sleep without one last hug” routine.
Tonight, as always, I yelled, threatened and cajoled her back into bed.
Tonight, as I’ve done in the past, as other parents have done in many ways, I asked if it was ok to smother her.
Which, if you know me, or anyone with my sense of black humor, is a joke born of frustration, annoyance, and yes, LOVE.
Tonight this woman (link removed because enough is enough), who I foolishly followed on Twitter, who likely doesn’t even know me, had someone in LA call the cops.
Anything you say, can and will be held against you…at least by some people it seems!
Did the woman who made the comment go too far? Or was it the woman who reported the comment? Who knows!
Regardless of who you think went too far, it’s a good example of why it’s important to be mindful of what’s you say online. I’m definitely not the most politically correct person in the world (what fun is that?!) so I understand using expressions that aren’t meant to be taken literally, or even saying something just for the shock value of it. The thing is though, it’s probably not a bad idea to be careful not to say something that’s going to come back and bite you in the butt…or have the cops knocking on your door!
Join the newsletter
Subscribe to get my latest content by email.
Wow, what a trip. You know, we live in a world where mothers have drowned their children because God told them to, so I wouldn’t be joking about smothering my child online. I would rather have the cops go to a house where they weren’t needed, than to have a child lose his/her life.