There is a great Lewis Black bit about the dumbest thing he ever heard that crossed my mind today courtesy of something someone said on Facebook.
I read the comment and immediately heard Mr. Black say the following:
She said, ‘If it weren’t for my horse, I wouldn’t have spent that year in college.’
I’ll repeat that. I’ll repeat that because that’s the kind of sentence that when you hear it, your brain comes to a screeching halt. And the left hand side of the brain looks at the right hand side and goes, ‘It’s dark in here, and we may die.’
Now if you don’t know the bit I am talking about you’re welcome to take a moment to watch the video below.
I think the whole thing is solid, but if you are short on time or not a fan of Lewis Black you can fast forward to 1:36 and catch the part about horse and college.
It Might Be The Dumbest Facebook Comment Ever
I’ll preface this by saying I got news moments before I read this that made the vein in my forehead pop out a bit.
Those of you who know me well know that if you see that vein it is best to just leave me alone or hold on because the show is about to start.
Anyway, as I was processing what I heard and wondering if Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride ever ends I clicked on Facebook thinking I’d read something innocuous like a bunch of cat posts and silly political rants.
Except that is not how it went.
I came across post about how the Nazi march in Whitefish, Montana was postponed because the jackasses wanted more time to try and find more misanthropes to join their parade.
That is not what made my head spin.
I was pleased to see it was postponed but not happy because they didn’t cancel because they suddenly decided they love Jews.
That hasn’t changed.
No, what set me off was a comment that someone made saying they thought it was kind of funny.
Cue screeching noise and end of brain activity.
“Did I read that right? Do they may funny as in ha-ha or funny as in strange? Do they not understand these people support a mass murderer who slaughtered members of my family and the person who posted it?
Do they not understand how many millions were killed by Hitler and that the marchers think old Adolf was a good guy?”
The Mobius Strip
I was far kinder in my response to the poster than I wanted to be.
It would have been easy to unload upon them and to heap all the scorn, disbelief and anger upon them that I felt but I didn’t.
Mostly because I knew the majority of my ire was based elsewhere.
It doesn’t mean their comment wasn’t dumb, ignorant and insensitive because it was but I am sure they aren’t the only one.
I have encountered plenty of people who don’t understand that historical events are real and that real people experienced them.
They don’t connect the dots or realize that the horrible stuff that once happened could happen again and that one of the reasons it doesn’t is because of the work people do.
Because people work to make sure we don’t forget the past and take steps to make sure we don’t fall down that particular rabbit hole…again.
The real thing that set me off and made me wonder when Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride ends got me thinking about Mobius strips and circular logic/reasoning.
It got me wondering yet again how to help someone internalize that saying from Confucius.
I might have to go outside and see if the moon and stars have managed to tear a hole in the cloud cover that is large enough for those who stand below to look upon and appreciate.
