Like everyone else who’s witnessed what’s happening in Afghanistan, I’m saddened and feel lifeless. In the hours after seeing this unfold on both the big and small screens last week, I began to feel like I got sucked into a narrow vacuum hose and stuck with no way out.
The horrors in Afghanistan notwithstanding (that sentence in-itself is wretched), what’s crushing me just as much is how people are claiming exclusive rights to their strong opinions, and name-calling those they disagree with in the aftermath of it all.
Once the war of opinions began, the war in Afghanistan became monumentally insignificant to them, though they’ll never admit this. It didn’t take long for the hate grenades to be lobbed back-and-forth across media platforms, including social media. And as usual, the insults and hate speech were lobbed without much thought.
Boom — explosion!
The insult landed. A direct hit. The damage was done. But how much damage, do you even know…? Hope you feel better now.
Insults are the weapons of discussion that people choose when their intelligence weakens. I frame it that way because most everyone has the intelligence not to use insults and hate speech. Of all the reasons I can think of not to insult somebody or belittle their opinion, chief among them is this…
That when people use the media and social media to project insults and hate speech, people who aren’t being targeted also get hit. You see, there’s collateral damage in being a dick. We’ve all heard the following cliché or something like it:
You never know what somebody else is battling, so be kind.
The damage that can be done to somebody who lives with hidden turmoil and who hides it behind a strong face, may be far greater than the person throwing the insults know. I can speak to this first-hand. An insult or abusive speech might truly be the difference in a person’s bad day, bad week, or God willing, hopefully not in their life.
Everyone has their right to expression — to throw insults, use hate speech, and to express unsolicited strong opinions. And everyone else has their tipping point. And those who throw insults blindly, regularly, and the name of feeling more intelligent or superior to another, probably have no idea whether the person they are aiming at is approaching their tipping point — or what innocent bystanders might also receive that hate grenade.
Ready. Aim. Insult…
Don’t worry about the casualties, so long as it makes you feel good.
With that in mind, I have two (rhetorical) questions for anyone who has insulted anyone else in relation to what’s happened in Afghanistan…
What, specifically, did you get out of being mean to another person…?
How does the world become a better place for your verbal malice…?
And I’m not just singling out social media warriors and water cooler prophets here. Media personalities, pundits, senators, representatives, and retired military leaders have used language on national television, radio, and the internet recent days that is inconsistent with the esteem those positions (should) warrant. And the men who hold high places…
This is what I think about when I ride… Jhciacb
This week by the numbers…
Bikes Ridden: 6
Miles: 157
Climbing: 6,900’
Mph Avg: 15.0
Calories: 8,900
Seat Time: 10 hours 25 minutes
Whether you ride a bike or not, thank you for taking the time to ride along with me today. If you haven’t already, please scroll up and subscribe. If you like what you read, give it a like and a share. If not, just keep scrollin’. Oh, and there’s this from Mari Boine. Enjoy…
The Spoke And Word™ 
Yes, it’s pretty disgusting! The word war is at all levels. I do not take part in it.
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The hurt of hate. Hate is such a strong emotion it negatively impacts us from our nervous system,immune system and stress hormones in our brains, This mental venom pollutes our spirit and poisons your soul with hates destructive power. Very Sad and yes like Dr. J says pretty disgusting. I cringe with sadness seeing what is happening in Afghanistan. God help the people of Afghanistan, God help us All.
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It’s all been too much. I refrain from participating because in my anger, hurt and disgust I cannot trust myself not to throw a hate grenade. I spend more time typing and backspacing or discarding comments than anything else. And while I’m not a military expert nor do I have great knowledge of pre-American Afghanistan occupation, I do see the terror and agony in the eyes of the Afghani people and I know that it’s merely my luck of being born here instead of there that separates us and nothing more. That there are people who cannot or will not feel empathy for them is beyond my comprehension. And I’m finding myself developing an ugly hatred towards those people. Enough so that the temptation to lash out at them is consuming me. I think another social media break is in my near future. I feel…. no, I know that my time is better spent finding ways to help in some way, any way, those whose lives are in jeopardy than endlessly debating basically what comes down to good vs evil on social media.
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I get it — 100%.
I’ll only say this… you bring much positivity, light, and humor to the circles we run in. Take a break if needed, but please come back. We need you…
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