I was unfriended yesterday. It wasn’t a discreet unfriending either (you know…the kind where you wait until you know the unfriendee isn’t online and might not notice for a while). No, this was nothing like that. This was the type of unfriending where the unfriender posts a comment to let everyone know about the unfriending. It might take some time to get over it (or not), but I’ll be ok. The whole exchange reminded me of a kid in middle school sending a note to let someone know that they’re not friends anymore. Here’s what happened:
Name has been concealed to protect the ignorant.
I posted a status update that noted I was reading Fundamentalism and Freemasonry: The Southern Baptist Investigation of the Fraternal Order…
Apparently, one of my “friends” (that I haven’t spoken with face to face in years and maybe twice on Facebook in the last couple of years) didn’t like me reading this book. And then the return to adolescence began…
Overall, I’m a pretty patient guy, with one major exception – ignorance. Ignorant people just set me off. I mean, they really irk me to the core. I’m not talking about garden variety ignorance from a lack of education or experience. I’m talking about the people who make ignorance a lifestyle choice. Of course, I had to respond with at least an attempt to shine a light in the darkness…
I got this reply…
I probably should have left it alone at this point…but…
I should have remembered one of my favorite quotes – “Never argue with a fool. They’ll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience.” Case in point…
Unfriended. Oh, the humanity! And of course, since the exchange was on my Facebook page, I had to get in the last word…
And now I have one less friend because I like to read.
Yikes,I better watch out. I like to read too!
Great post!
I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. It was an EXCELLENT break from reading my students’ final projects and a return to Mr. Fremont’s 7th grade class…..
Actually it was a sobering and timely reminder to me, a teacher educator and social studies educator, why I MUST persist in teaching for social justice.
It’s amazing to me that some folks change so much in 15 years, yet some don’t budge at all. I guess I need to let it go…I have capitalism crap planned for today.