You may have noticed that the tosabarbell posts have been few and far between lately. Maybe you didn’t notice, that’s okay too. But for those who have and wondered aboot it, here’s why….I’m sick of the internet. Tired. Sick. Fed up with. Done. Well, not done, but nearly done.

The amount of bickering and arguing and finger pointing is at an all time high and I’m just bored with it all. Who knows, this post may be boring. Here, let me make it interesting…

Gregor Edmunds is always a good palette cleanser.

That’s better.

Anyways.

It is barely in me these days to find meaning on the screen. There is so much absolute shite out there that I become more and more attached to my Candy Crush and less likely to look at anything else except panda video’s.

Conversations quickly turn into debates which quickly deteriorate into calling each other names and then taking to the internet even further to get people on your side. And I guess that’s the crux of my frustration. Why do you need people on your side? Keeping conversations going that should have stopped 50 posts ago so that your point of view can be solidified among your peers.

High School. And in case I haven’t said it before, I hated High School. Sharing our view on a matter that is important to us should drive debate, not initiate a fight. Here’s my view, what’s yours? Well, I disagree. Does it matter? Probably not. If it does and we would be better off in the long run to find a solution, let’s find a solution. In private, on the phone or in person if possible. Me and you. Not all of our friends plus our FB friends who we don’t even really know. You and me…solving the world’s problems. But probably not, just solving our own. Mutually respecting each other’s right to say what is in our hearts and minds and going from there. Avoiding the “your’re just a hater” rhetoric that instantly (in my mind) classifies you as an 8th grader who never learned how to disagree. No one asking for back-up; it’s a debate after all, not a fucking 9-1-1 call.

Anytime a person or group is pitted against each other, I become wary of both sides, no matter who I agree with. I don’t want anything to do with it. I’ll state my view if I feel led to do so and move on. If my view is seen as ignorant and called out as such, I’ll listen. I may agree or disagree with the feedback but I will give it some thought even if I don’t reply. Because we used to be a society that actually did care about what our peers thought of us. That’s okay. It means we acknowledge that there are other people in the world  and in order for us to work or coexist productively, we need to find common ground . Weird, eh?

But that’s not popular. And I’ve aboot had it. So in order to bring fun back to the interwebz, here’s my own “Debate threads” drinking game. Find your favorite Rye (or Bourbon if you’re out of Rye but why in the hell are you out of Rye?) and drink when…

1) The word “hater” is used

2) The phrase “you started this when you…” is used

3) Someone types “Lol” (also Lulz, Lolz, or Oh Ha Ha.)

4) Someone slams another from over 10 posts above (this gets harder as the game goes on)

And lastly, one of my favorite hated sayings,

5. Well we’ll just agree to disagree. (No dick, you just disagreed. STFU.)

And if this doesn’t work to make the webz more fun, there’s this…

…not surprisingly, this cracks me the fuck up.

Oh! Come and see the violence inherent in the system! Help! Help! I’m being repressed!

Monty Python