It’s The Beginning Of A Beautiful Unfriending

The broken toggle switch in the master bathroom isn’t a particularly difficult item to repair when you have the right parts and tools.

I own the proper tools but I don’t remember if I have the meter I need here in Texas or if it is in the tool chest in California.

Going to need to buy a new switch so I could pick up another meter too or just turn off the power to the whole house. Unless there is something weird I should be able to take the old one out and replace it in less than 15 minutes.

It is good to have options for approaching some things but it is not good to have friends who think facts are optional.

That was my initial thought when I received a couple of Facebook friend requests. “You think facts are optional. Anything you don’t like is fake and anything that fits your narrative is real.

What makes you think I am a good person to befriend.”

It is possible the requests were accidental and they didn’t intend to extend their hand to me but I don’t have much interest in finding out.

There are some areas that I refuse to engage in.

People who tell me that Sandy Hook was staged and the earth is flat without having prefaced their statement by saying they had a lobotomy or stroke are on my list.

That is an incomplete list but some of the folks who sent me friend requests occupy higher positions on that aforementioned list.

Maybe I ought to ask them to come help replace that broken toggle and not turn the power off…

Dunno.


It’s The Beginning Of A Beautiful Unfriending

I confess to having mild interest in asking these fine folks why they sent requests to me but not enough to dedicate any time to it.

Friendships are funny things in that you can be very close with people who have reprehensible views as long as you don’t know about them.

That is a case in which ignorance is bliss.

Some have suggested there is a fault in not being willing to be friends with people who disagree with you but if you really dig into the idea there are levels of disagreement.

For example if you a reformed White supremacist it is possible for there to be friendship as long as the trust that you are reformed is there.

But if you tell me you hate all Jews, Blacks and Asians there isn’t going to be a reason to have a conversation about friendship.

There are levels and layers but this post isn’t being written to dig and explore them all. At best you get the quick and superficial glance like the one above.

And you get the comment tied to the headline of this being the beginning of a beautiful unfriending or whatever you call not accepting a friend request.

I’ll add that someone asked me not long ago if I would be willing to try to build a friendship with someone I vehemently disagreed with.

So let’s ask what would happen if that white supremacist/antisemite/homophobe wanted to engage in a real dialogue.

Would I do it? Would I dig in and see if I could change their mind?

It’s not impossible but it is still doubtful. People don’t just change and I am not trained to deprogram folks.

Would I try to bring someone who believes the world is flat and that Sandy Hook was fake back to reality?

Unless I knew them well and determined that aliens had stolen their brain it is unlikely. Much as I enjoy a good debate the idea of digging in with someone who thinks facts are mutable isn’t real interesting.

But hey, you never know what I will say or do, I am that kind of rebel.

Still got to figure these folks sent me these requests by accident and not intentionally.

Sometimes life is ever so peachy.

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By Joshua Wilner

Hi, I am Josh Wilner and I am happy that you have decided to visit my corner of cyberspace. I am a writer/marketer/friend and family man. My professional background includes more than twenty years in working with businesses to help them do a better job of connecting with their existing and prospective customers. More specifically I have worked with companies of all sizes from the Fortune 500 to the new start up to help them build, develop and grow their social media and marketing plans. I love spending time with my family and friends. I enjoy music, reading, writing, playing sports and laughing.

2 comments

  1. I vet everyone that wants to connect with me wherever I am. Since I’m presently boycotting Twitter (stupid Musk) at the present time, I’m dealing with a lot more people wanting to connect with me on LinkedIn. At this point I don’t know totally that any of those people are whack-a-doodle nuts, but what I do know is that some of the people who want to connect with me have profiles that leave me wondering why the heck they want to connect with me anyway. I always checked people out on Twitter, but on Facebook, I check who they’re connected to along with myself because I’ve already vetted every single person I consider a friend there. I’m with you, I don’t want to get into a discussion about January 6th being the fault of Antifa (ugh) or anything stupid. If we agree on the substance but not the details, maybe we can talk. Luckily, thus far that’s not happened, so I count myself lucky.

    1. TheJackB – Someone complained that this page doesn’t tell you what to expect to find here in this blog so I aim to rectify this with the next line. I am a father who writes about life, parenting, business, politics and fiction. I don’t use an editorial calendar because I don’t map out what I am going to write that far in advance. The primary focus will be on things that relate to children and parenting. But the nifty thing about that is that encompasses a wide range of things. Sometimes I work with companies on their PR/Marketing efforts. If they provide products or services I will disclose it. Here is an incomplete list of companies that I am currently or have recently worked with: Nintendo, Philips Norelco, Subway, Frigidaire and Mattel. Want to know more about me, keep reading. If I wanted to provide a professional description it would looks similar to this: Jack has a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism from California State University Northridge. He has been writing for print and web publications for more than twenty years, covering a wide range of topics including: business, technology, parenting, politics, education, sports and religion. That is far too serious so I prefer to use something like: The Jack B. is a writer and author of 39 unpublished books and three screenplays. A former athlete and would be superhero he still fights for truth, justice and the American Way. Though he may look like a grown man, don’t fool yourself he is still a boy at heart. When he is not engaged in Walter Mitty like fantasies he is a husband, father and friend and blogs at TheJackB. Hmm…obviously I have since moved from Random Thoughts over to this place, but that is ok. This page is a work in progress which is a good description for me. I’ll probably tweak this on a regular basis so feel free to keep checking back in because you never know what might show up. I am a prolific writer and update frequently so don’t forget to scroll down the page to see what nugget of wisdom you just might have missed. Here is a short selection of posts to get you started. A Father Describes Parenting A Father’s Burden How Sister’s Helped to Train A Father of “Daddy’s Girl” Inside the Blogger’s Studio- A Dream, Er Nightmare The GermoPhobe What I Dream About I am In Love Becoming a Dad Dad’s Most Important Job A Decade of Dad Grandpa Donuts Why Your Post Sucks and Everyone Hates Your Blog A Letter To My Children- Things That Matter A Letter To My Children-2011 Dad Balances Fear Versus Reality Q&A With Daddy Blogger JackB Save The Last Dance For Me- 75 Years of Marriage An Uncertain Certainty Four Generations & A Wedding The Best Thing My Father Ever Said To Me 1 Foolproof Way To Become a Better Writer The Story Of A House- The Final Days He Died A Hero Twenty-Five Links That Will Make You A Better Writer/Blogger Thanks for coming by, I hope you like it. If you want to reach me use the contact form or try talk-to-jacknow-at-gmail-dotcom You can also find more information by clicking About Me and reading my profile there. Also, I encourage you to sign up for my newsletter using the form on the top right hand side of the page.
      Joshua Wilner says:

      I am with you on Musk though I haven’t officially begun boycotting Twitter. I vet most people but I have let a few through who I thought were questionable.

      Usually it is because I am curious to see how they respond to what I put out. Most of the time if they truly object they sever the relationship themselves.

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