There is a (not safe for work) Facebook group that was purportedly created for the purpose of getting people to pray for Obama’s death. It has become an Internet “controversy” and I was going to blahg about that today but then, just now when I went out there to grab the link for y’all, I realized that the site where I found a bunch of folks calling each other names this morning has now degenerated into name-calling PLUS, well, condom was probably one of the more polite words I encountered but it was paired with impolite words. And so. There are folks who are posting sincere, well-thought-out comments (retracted) but they are drowned out. For the most part this smacks of middle-school kids with too much time on their hands or maybe an adult with a skewed experience of life. But I don’t know… Sigh.

I am NOT a member of that group. I have seen the group float along through my facebook stuff a few times. The full title is (don’t start holding your breath here) DEAR LORD, THIS YEAR YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTOR, PATRICK SWAYZIE. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE ACTRESS, FARAH FAWCETT. YOU TOOK MY FAVORITE SINGER, MICHAEL JACKSON. I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW, MY FAVORITE PRESIDENT IS BARACK OBAMA. AMEN (yes it is all in capital letters). In the first place, I never could quite get past the length of the title to figure out what the group was all about. Now that I have actually looked at the site, I’m still not sure that the group’s title clearly explains what it’s all about. Supposedly, it’s about killing the president. Say what? If the page/group is really about killing the president, why has it degenerated it into the usual bathroom talk that middle school kids engage in. Fer kee-reist.

I do belong to a few Facebook groups. I belong to the Clyde’s Drive-In group, for instance. The drive-in restaurant that my grandparents (and parents) used to take me to way back in the 1950s and 60s and I still go there and so do my kids, when they can. And then there’s the Ski Ranch, where we usually ski (among other places) every winter but I didn’t have time this year. And the 60-something folks who are spending the “summer” here in the Great White North walking around Lake Superior. And a few others. Not many. But how could I forget our own Ann Arbor Young Actors Guild.

I am outta steam. Facebook is what it is. My own personal algorithm about joining Facebook groups or pages or whatever is to be extremely careful. Check it out. Is it something that you are truly interested in? Who is the moderator? Does he/she/it sound rational? Does the page/group/whatever provide interesting information that is pertinent to your life? If not? Do not join! Check Snopes if the group is even remotely weird. There’s a lot of crap floating around them thar tubes and a lot of it is not true.

Upon re-reading this in the cold, clear light of morning, I want to make it VERY CLEAR that I do NOT APPROVE of the supposed purpose of the group. The point I was clumsily trying to make here is that the postings are so ridiculous that it’s almost impossible to tell what the group is about. Which is probably a good thing.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 3rd, 2010 at 6:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.