When you can be anything you want.



I, in all honesty, don't know how I can stand Facebook these days. But, the truth is, I am hugely addicted. My excuse is that, without any doubt, it is a useful tool for people like me, living far away from home(s). And the more countries you leave behind, the more friends are out there somewhere, and there simply is no time in our lives to send regular emails, let alone call each other. But I still like to know what they are all up to.

And, despite quite a few very irritating things about it, Facebook never really annoyed me too much, until recently, when some very bizarre things started happening, for which i can't think of any logical explanation. Besides endless pictures of (frigging) cats that I simply can't stand any longer, the one particular thing that really bugs me these days is this fake heart-breaking story. For instance, the one about a man asking for a divorce and then realizing he still loved his wife. Sadly the wife dies, and the mistress slaps him across the face, first having checked his forehead for signs of fever. (please refer to the extract below...)

I mean, come on, people! For goodness sake!

Do you know how many people left comments under this incredibly badly written made-up piece of crap? Thousands! It is so obviously fake it makes me laugh, but people actually cried. I guess, I should not be too surprised. People, in their majority, are depressingly, unbearably, hopelessly stupid. But what interests me here, is who comes up with this sort of crap and most importantly...why? To generate spam? To collect likes and shares? But for what? There is no money in it, surely, and no fame either as there never is the original name under such a confession.


There are some other popular ones floating about...Like the Russian letter about a baby being born on an aeroplane, being delivered by an unemployed young woman. (Not sure what her employment status has to do with the price of fish. )

What I wonder about though, is whether these made-up heartbreaking stories, clearly aimed at getting an emotional reaction, could eventually cause a major compassion fatigue, turning most of us into cold monsters, completely and utterly indifferent to the real life pain and suffering. I hope I am still able to tell the difference between a real situation and made-up crap like the above...But, sometimes, I ask myself..what if  it me who is too cynical to spare a tear for this story of a poor cheating bastard and his dying wife? What if all the 2,000+ commentators who cried and felt for this situation are not actually stupid but just very kind and compassionate?

I am only kidding.

Of course I never asked myself that, because, come on!!! These people are stupid. While they are sitting on their fat arses in front of their laptops, leaving emotional comments under a post generated by some other unknown moron, their elderly neighbour might be alone in his lat, with no family or friends to visit him. Their mother is probably waiting for a phone call, or their real life friend might be depressed, needing someone to talk to. But they sit there crying for something that clearly, never happened. Because, it is easier this way, isn't it? This is something they can get emotional about for a split second, before moving on to a cute picture of a cat with a silly caption, and, voila!
life is all great again. No effort required, no proper emotional involvement. Yet, they feel good about themselves, for as far as they are concerned, they are kind. And compassionate.


Comments

  1. Viola! ?
    Misscelaneus'1st law of the english language : "In any text written in english, not a single word written in another language can ever be spelled correctly."
    Congatulations my dear, you're becoming a true anglo... (no offense meant !)

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    1. Oh no, must be fixed asap! It was too late last night. :)

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  2. Hey, that storyline about a cheating husband and a wife dying from cancer is, sadly, real - read John Edwards's biography (he ran for US presidency in 2008). I'm, too, disgusted, by all the crap I see online but if you are selective about who you add as friends on FB, you see less of it. I had to unfriend some people who posted stuff that was just plain annoying or tasteless. By the way, that opening quote you used is insightful - the problem is, truly stupid people lack imagination for what else they could be - so they choose to be stupid all around.

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    1. Hmm...then it must have been told really badly.

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  3. Ok, hold on. So i have now read his biography, but it is a completely different story?! With a different ending! :))

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    1. Well, yeah, I did not say his story was the same, just some of the facts. His wife did die, unfortunately, though.

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  4. Scary, why dont you just do something - like do something for living - like work maybe? Or if you think writing is your calling, why dont you go to somewhere less comfortable and laid back than Qatar and get some inspiration?
    Your posts are becoming painfully boring to read.
    Honestly, who gives a shit about the stupid posts in facebook? I am pretty much addicted to facebook too, but to the posts by true and intelligent friends, the rest I just minimise (do not delete as it could be quite offensive to some, but just limit!!), so that way all are happy - no stupid garbage in my posts and no offended friends. Give it a try! It works.

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    1. Ouch! What would make my posts more exciting for you, my intelligent anonymous reader?
      Thanks for suggestions, i will give them a consideration at some point when circumstances allow. As for now, what i always say is dont like it dont read it- the internet, as you correctly pointed out, gives you many options for free choice. You can always "limit" scary azeri so i would not disturb your intelligence with my boring topics?

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    2. Scary, don't get a 'job' (at least not solely to add a dimension to your blogs).

      I really enjoy your blogs, especially where it's about the smaller things that often have a possibly disproportionate impact on how you feel about them relative to their worldly importance.

      It's great to be reminded that others share these frustrations and often, like you, from a different perspective to my own.

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  5. Actually, Scary, your posts were always exciting to me - they were thought-provoking, funny, written by somebody I could relate to you know! That is until recently. The last couple of posts were mundane and uninteresting - I could hear typical middle-eastern expat wife whinge through them! I am sure it is just a phase, but I thought since I was a loyal reader of your posts I could give you a feedback?!

    Perhaps it sounded a little too harsh as you obviously did not like it. Oh well, I did not mean to hurt your feelings, just was honest.

    I guess this what happens when opinionated meets opinionated! ;)

    Oh by the way, I am not anonymous (intelligent - you bet I am!), anonymous - not at all. I am Rena, I leave comments quite often on your facebook page. I just did not have time to register here and used a quick 'anonymous' option this morning as my facebook was available only on Blackberry, which is annoying to use for long comments :-)

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    1. Sorry, Rena, yes of course feedback is good, but yeah, was a bit rude, I thought. I often am tempted to leave a comment of what I really think on this one woman's blog but then I stop myself and ask what was I trying to achieve by leaving it? Except for making her feel bad, nothing. I think in a personal blog, we should be allowed to express our thoughts, whatever we feel like saying. That's the beauty of a personal blog. I write about Safarov one day, about corruption the other...and about trivial mumsy stuff. The topics will not always appeal to everybody here. You might relate to some of it, or none of it. And you might find some of it boring. I personally liked this one, actually... and some others I did not think were any good were popular! You never know. So anyway, I am not offended. Even though to tell someone she is turning into a bored expat housewife is pretty offensive, my dear.

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  6. That's why you won't find me on Facebook. Lots of stuff about people I don't really know, that I'd never call friends in real life, that I would never even recognize them if I see them by my side on the street or wherever.
    I respect people who love Facebook. But as for me, thank you but, no, thank you.

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  7. Scary, happens not too often to me but I just had a feeling that I offended someone veeeery early in the morning and owed an apology. Especially that I really do not think that you are turning into boring housewife and there is absolutely nothing wrong with housewives (I was an expat housewife myself for a couple of years, hated it, but enjoyed some perks too). I hope to read and discuss many more fun and interesting posts by you - they usually are nice highlights of my day!

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