Tag Archive for Twitter

Pedophilia & a Joke

I haven’t been this upset about a rumor in a long time. As a survivor of pedophilia (from two men), I have an idea of what it looks and feels like. (I’ll explain later.) When a person close to me said that Biden is a pedophile, I was shocked and, like most rumors going around, I researched it. It started when Don Trump Jr. did an Instagram meme in answer to Biden’s “See you later, alligator.” Trump’s response, was “In a while, pedophile.”  When called on it, Trump Tweeted that he was just “joking around” and included a laughing face.

Yes, I saw the so-called damning photos from swearing-in ceremonies, with Biden greeting families and giving extra attention to children. Inappropriate? Possibly. But in front of parents and on camera? Pedophiles enjoy what they’re doing and want to continue, meaning they don’t usually do it in public or on the public record. Instead, they groom the kids, get them ready to accept the sexual actions, carry them out in private, and secure their position by telling the child that it’s their little special secret because Grandma/Auntie/Whoever would be mad and both he and the child would get in trouble.

Now, why does this upset me so? Because pedophilia is serious and life-changing to a child.  It’s with the child throughout their life. We “get over it” so we can have a life.  But when it’s used as a joke or political ploy, it leads us back to our childhood, and the trivializing or advantage-taking of it hurts…hurts badly.

My Tweetervation

My Tweetervation is an observation about a side effect of Twitter–glassy-eye-itis. I remember carrying on conversations, with give and take, each side listening to the fullness of what the other person was saying. Recently I realized something about people enmeshed in Twitter, Facebook, and other social media in which messages are short: I should deliver my message in 280 characters (don’t dare add an “um”). Past that, the lost-interest signs creep in–turning away, eyes glazed over, unrelated thought-balloons forming over their heads, maybe a non sequitur comment or question in a voice that hints that the person has left the room.

It’s not just the younger generation. I’m seeing it across the board. The only thing these people have in common is that I can find them on social media. Thus, my conclusion and my Twittervation.

As with many things over my years on this Earth, I’ll adapt.  I won’t like it, but I’ll adapt.

By the way, I apologize for using 991 characters in this post.

Observation on Communication

The experts already know this, and I suspected it, but now I’m seeing it.  That is, the effect of Twitter and texting on people’s ability to communicate in writing.

I edit everything–resumes, PowerPoint presentations, college application letters, MA/PhD dissertations–you name it.  I’m constantly finding that, often, even highly educated people’s spelling, grammar, and punctuation are on a junior-high level.  Yet prospective employers, colleges, and PhD boards expect far better.

As a retired English teacher, I’m appalled.  As a person, professionally and personally, trying to translate what people sometimes write, I’m frustrated.

Sigh…………………….

 

The Words and Wisdom of Donald Trump

Love him or hate him, you have to admit that he has a lot to say.  However, I think all his English teachers are turning over in their graves after reading the sentence below.  Yes, it–technically–is only a single sentence.

IF HE BECOMES PRESIDENT HE’LL SAVE THE WORLD BY TALKING THE BAD GUYS TO DEATH!
 

We Spent How Much on that Study?!

The results reported in the Psychological Review showing that anger and stress in Tweets correlate with heart disease and death made me, once again, yell “No fecal matter!”  I’m frequently flabbergasted by expensive studies that show what common sense already tells us.  I don’t know how much any of these studies cost, but here are 13 that have my “fecal matter” meter registering high:

  • The Western diet is bad for you
  • Sleeping beauty is no myth
  • Racists are close-minded
  • Morbid alert! Hanging is bad for the heart
  • Cheating men have strong sexual urges
  • Shy teens find friends online
  • Take smaller bites, eat less
  • Umbrellas protect you from the sun
  • People buy more fruits and veggies when they’re cheaper
  • Bad relationships depress people
  • Reality TV skews reality
  • Drugs and driving don’t mix
  • Women find musicians hot

Yes, these were all actual studies.  You can read about them at LiveScience.com.

I want to do a study on the effect of gravity on scientists being dropped out of a tenth-story university lab.  Let me know if you’re willing to contribute to this vital project.