I have never lived in Jerusalem for more than about 5 weeks at a time which means that even though it feels like Home it has never been the place where I reside.
That means if we aren’t splitting hairs most people would call me a visitor and it is also why many people have been surprised to hear I have never been there and not run into people I know.
It might not have happened every day but it happened enough for it to be noticeable.
So given the number of times that has happened I probably shouldn’t be surprised to find out more people read this blog than I ever would have guessed.
That includes discovering today that someone else is familiar with this joint but I really don’t know how they found it.
It is not a big deal to me that they were but as a very curious man I can’t help but wonder a little bit about how they got to this place.
The marketer in me is curious if they were told about it or if some keyword search led them here. That keyword knowledge is useful and people pay good money to try and be among the top ranking sites for particular searches.
These Are The People In Your Neighborhood
When I was a kid that neighborhood was pretty small, just the houses on my street and those I would pass when I’d walk over to a friend’s house.
I didn’t know them all but I knew enough to say many and to recognize faces all over town.
Sometimes those days feel very close and sometimes they feel so far away it is hard to believe I lived that life.
Today it is a whole different ballgame not because mom and dad sold our house or because I moved far away but because I am part of multiple online communities.
It is not the same as when I was a kid because in many cases I don’t really have much in the way of physical memories, if any.
Maybe I have seen a few pictures of these online neighbors but oftentimes it is just an avatar or two that I see here and there.
And because I don’t visit other blogs like I used to that online neighborhood feels much smaller.
Sometimes I think of it as being more intimate and sometimes I don’t think about it all, probably because commenting is at an all time low.
But when I look at the stats I see a different story.
I see the regular visitors and those who just show up every now and then.
Most days I don’t pay much attention to it but then there are moments like today when someone talks to me about something I have written and I wonder how they got here.
Wonder who directed them and why or if as said earlier it is just dumb luck.
Useful Idiots Use Keyboards
I got a good laugh from some of the comments people spewed at me about the shooting in Vegas.
The best came from the useful idiots whose response to my criticism was to tell me to shut up or to suggest that I complain too often about the idiot they elected.
Any time someone tells me to shut up I know it comes from fear and insecurity because they’re incapable of supporting their position with facts and there is a good chance that makes them feel stupid.
It is not hard to understand the indignity they feel when they enter a battle of wits and discover they are the half wit in that particular contest.
What is more difficult to figure out is their lack of ability to do some simple research so they could at least pretend to have a discussion where they aren’t forced to always say “in my opinion.”
I can’t decide if that is more mind boggling than the the fake news so many push out and call fact.
The smarter and more cautious person reads the articles they link to before posting them so they don’t get called out on it.
And just to reiterate, I am convinced that some of the name calling happened because these people felt stupid for voting for an incompetent conman.
I certainly understand how that might make them lash out like angry children. It is very telling.
They don’t seem to have any more inclination to learn from their mistakes than the failure they voted into office.
Sad to see him drag them down.
Don’t expect me to spare criticizing that menace in office just because you feel stupid for voting for him and don’t expect me to have forgotten your whining about the prior office holder for years.
Hypocrisy doesn’t look good on you and yes, the monkey is smarter than you are.
Final Words
I am beginning to wonder if Facebook’s legacy is going to be the destruction and division of friendships old and new.
The reality is if it wasn’t for Facebook I wouldn’t be connected with quite a few people and I wouldn’t care about most of them.
That doesn’t mean I wish ill upon them or anything like that just that I wouldn’t notice their absence and I don’t think they would notice mine.
So some of these disagreements are sad because without Facebook we probably wouldn’t ever have any serious arguments with some people.
OTOH, if they don’t like what I have to say they can unfriend or unfollow me.
It is really that simple.
I do it all the time.
If I am connected to someone who has abhorrent beliefs I walk away.
But I don’t do it just because I disagree with someone. I don’t want to live in an echo chamber or need everyone to share the same opinions as I do.
That would make life dull and boring.
It’s good to challenge your thoughts and think about what you believe and why. Sometimes you’ll come to the same conclusion and sometimes you won’t.
And there is a good chance if you do that you won’t end a discussion by saying shut up or using some other insult because you’re too stupid to have educated yourself in advance.
