Blind Ladies and Armless Men

For the past week, it has been elections time at USU. I am not sure yet what my opinion is on elections. I guess it changes on a day to day basis. I just do not appreciate being stopped a million times as I try going from one class to the next by people that try to manipulate me into voting for them.

However, I know a couple people who are running this year and they are magnificent human beings. So, obviously, I have shown my support for these humans I know. When I say, "showing support", that means I was telling everyone I was friends with who they should vote for. I was not to the point that I was promoting anyone via facebook or anything. But then, something happened that just pushed me over the edge a little bit. Basically, one more person acting super fake so they could get a vote from me. Not only did it press my limits, but I also found it pretty amusing. So I made the decision to show my support through my facebook status. I will admit, I added a slightly sarcastic comment into it. It was not very rude. I even got second opinions, and they said it was very much appropriate. So I let the little arrow on the computer screen wander over to the 'Share' button.

Bad idea.

That evening, I checked my facebook to find a message in my inbox. It was from some girl that I did not know. I did not even have any mutual friends with her. Strange. Basically, it was a very rude and immature message regarding my opinion of who to vote in for office. She went off about how I was 'scared to lose, because I was going to lose'.

Lose what? The key to my apartment? Yep, I sure am scared of that. I have gotten myself locked out on more than one occasion and it is pretty embarrassing. Seriously, what is this girl talking about?

Then she called me a few choice words that I do not ever remember being called (at least to my face) in my life. My eyes just went big as I stared at the insults this girl threw out at me. For half a second, I felt really bad. Then I realized that I had nothing to feel bad about, and I laughed out loud at the girl's immaturity.

I was going to ignore the message, but I could not resist, so I wrote a reply.

It was actually very nice. Almost so nice, it was mean. Ya know what I am talking about?

I told her that it was too bad she couldn't really know who I was as a person before she started calling me swear words, because I was actually pretty nice. Then I told her to have a nice day.

She sent another message.

All that one said was,

"Loser."

Good one.

I found myself slightly irritated at this girl the rest of the night.

Until I realized it wasn't doing me any good worrying about some girl I didn't even know.

Why let her get in my way of being in a happy mood?

Then I went a step further and decided maybe the girl was not as huge a jerk as she had sounded. I mean, she called me a loser (along with some other things) and I don't feel like I am a loser. Perhaps this girl was merely having a bad day and she decided to take it out on me. I mean, I am a pretty easy target, after all. I am just some girl on facebook she doesn't even know and maybe will never see. Yep, easy target.

And maybe she was having more than just one bad day. Maybe this girl has a hard life with lots of depressing challenges. Perhaps these challenges have made her a tad bitter.

I read a story from my sociology book that really made me stop and think. The narrator is an elderly woman who lives near New York City. She suffers from spinal meningitis and is also blind. Let me share it with you:

"You ask me if people are really different today than in the '20s and '30s. Not too much. They are still fearful of the handicapped. I don't know if fearful is the right word, but uncomfortable at least. But I can understand it somewhat; it happened to me. I once asked a man to tell me which staircase to use to get from the subway out to the street. He started giving me directions that were confusing, and I said, 'Do you mind taking me?' He said, 'Not at all.' He grabbed me on the side with my dog on it, so I asked him to take my other arm. And he said, 'I'm sorry, I have no other arm.' And I said, 'That's all right, I'll hold onto the jacket.' It felt funny hanging onto the sleeve without the arm in it."

My point is, everyone has problems. Maybe some problems are more obvious than others, but that does not make them harder or easier. Maybe the rude facebook girl was blind or armless on the inside. Or maybe she really is missing an arm. I honestly have no idea.