I'm the girl that sits at her computer on a rainy day and scans through all those soppy homecoming videos - I have yet to watch one that doesn't make me cry, nor have I ever posted one or admitted to watching one.
I watch a lot of silly, sad, amazing and funny videos; there is something slightly addictive to watching the reactions and actions of others. How would you react if you were at work and suddenly your loved one, who has been gone for months, shows up unexpectedly? Or what would your reaction be to your loved one shoved talc in your hairdresser and unknowingly you turn it on first thing in the morning.....yeah. I'm pretty sure ALL sharp implements should be removed from my reach at that point....
Curiosity and my strange imagination gets the best of me and I indulge in watching stupid videos online. However, I have recently started watching new clips, soundbites and other random news-related stuffs from sites like Reditt and BuzzFeed. Always good for a laugh or a "WHOA" moment. I have also noticed an increase in video clips on Facebook - posted by various friends and family.....and this is where is gets interesting.
You can always tell a lot about a person who is willing and able to be confrontational and argumentative online but not so much when face to face with someone. For some reason we feel protected and oh-so self-righteous when all we have looking at us is a computer screen. The quick-witted rebuttals seem effortless when we don't actually have to make eye contact with the person who has a different opinion from us. The nasty, snarky and appallingly rude comments and opinions, covering everything from politics, to sexual orientation, to life choices, are fodder for every small-minded and secretly bigoted 'friend' you have on ANY social network.
But is it the computer screen that gives them the ability to be so damn detached? Or are societal norms changing? Or have they ever changed?
A family member posted a video this morning that caught my eye: (Hopefully you can follow the link)
What happened to this gay couple?
The premise of the video (done by one of the those 'What would you do - 20/20 specials) is actors play the roles of gay couple with kids trying to have breakfast in a small restaurant in a small Texas town. The waitress, also an actress, makes it difficult for them to do so and eventually calls them out for being gay and asks them to leave.
The interesting part is the reaction of the bystanders.
Out of the 55 bystanders - 25 of then stand up and defend the gay couple. One even tells the waitress SHE is the one who should leave NOT the couple and their children.
GO TEXAS! BUT.....why only 25?? Why are we so focused on - ' not my problem, I should stay out of it' - that no one else stood up and said enough? Because I'm pretty sure that the same discrimination was occurring on your friends Facebook page or Twitter account, you would be all...MY CAPS ON, BITCH!!....
Have I miss judged the situation?
I cannot say, with any degree of certainty, that I would have stood up and made a scene - but I hope for all my blogging and social commentary on the subject; I would have stood up and called bullshit. Gay couples, like everyone else, just want to be treated the same. No special treatment....just treated with the same level of respect and disregard as we treat other strangers...lol.
When will we grow up and stop hiding? This issue isn't going to go away. Every day it gains more and more acceptance. Even the military is on board - offering benefits to gay AD and their dependents! About damn time! (but that is another blog post)
As much as I loved watching this video and seeing the conservative Southerners stand up for what is right - I was slightly disappointed that fewer people defend male gay couples and that New Yorkers are less likely to be as brave......
New Yorkers seem to talk the talk....but can't seem to walk the walk.....
It takes all shapes and sizes to make this world a more beautiful and interesting place to live. Unfortunately I can name a few 'shapes and sizes' that should be thrown far from the pool.....if you know what I mean.....*sulks back behind computer screen*
