Did you watch Bambi growing up?

Usually this time of year, as the weather warms up, and the spring puts us all in the mood that usually can only be describes as happy and loving, I'm noticing a trend of hatred spreading rampantly, online.

10 years ago, the amount of social networking that is available now was only a pipe dream and a myth. Cell phones were only on a rapid rise. Napster or the online dating sites were the only thing remotely close to social networking. Blogs were even just coming to, but as far as I can remember, was something that no one really cared about.

Over the past couple weeks, through Twitter, and the commentary sections of various blogs that my friends write, I'm witnessing an ever growing amount of negativity, hatred, fighting, all of which come with an immense flavor of ugliness and unprofessionalism. Not that any of that should really matter for what the sites that they're posted on anyway.

Twitter, Facebook and Blog sites made from the cookie-cutter default setting that any chimpanzee could put together are most definitely not the Huffington Post, the Wall Street Journal, or Encyclopedia Bertanica. None of us should be expecting them to be anything but a mild to completely self-appreciating, conceited allotment for anyone to publicly voice whatever they want, which most typically falls under that awesome "check out my slide-show" genre.

You know the "slide-show" genre. You're guilty of it too. It's that feeling that yo have to show what you felt was the most hilarious and interesting thing you had ever seen, done or heard. Unfortunately for 90% of your audience, they could give two flying fucks about the subject. But, you'll still share it anyway.

Mix this mentality with our every growing insecurity and need to know about everything that is going on around us, and that our friends, peers, nemesis, competitors or any one else that we passed that tuesday in 2006 while on layover in Charlotte, NC, and you find people filling hours of their day reading random postings about anything they can click on.

Then our ego comes into play, and we now feel like we have to say something. Never mind that we may actually have no personal bearing on the subject at hand, we now feel that if we don't say it, the other 19 people that will say it will get the credit for having done so, and thus left you behind, again.

There are the people, that are taking their fights, personal and professional, out to the public. It's very unbecoming. Some people that I find incredibly beautiful, inside and out, and that I respected for so long, making slanderous remarks, or commenting and crying out loud about their personal displeasure with a work product and the people they worked with on that project. Yes, they have every right to voice these concerns, but I get the feeling that they wouldn't say this face to face with anyone actually involved.

There is always something to be said for standing up for yourself, and I would hope that everyone always does that. In the face of that adversity you should not just roll over and take the wrongness that is being done to you. But airing your dirty deeds and fight in public, in front of your coworkers, friends and peers, you start to become something else. You didn't stand up for yourself in that case. In airing your dirty laundry and fight with them, you know make yourself a risk to be around. I myself may not want to work on a project with you, if you're going to flip out like that again. I may not want to be around you and the others involved, who are mutual friends, colleagues and co-workers, because I don't want the guilt by association. If I do something that you're not 100% in agreement with, are you going to cause that kind of scene with me as well?

Then there are the commentators. Everyone is a critic. I get that. We all get that. I may criticize you too, but unless it's something that I know for certainty and absolution, I'm not going to say it. I may be bored out of my ever loving mind by your position, or I may not agree with it. But, it is your opinion. Commentators that post on every site, and beat dead horses are only doing that. I watch it, I read it, I laugh at it, and I keep going with my day.

The commentary that I laugh at the most, are the comments that try to tear down the author and the subject the most. "How could you even think to focus on a....", "Nobody wants to....", "If it were up to me...", etc. and so forth. I have to assume that one of two things is going on within these statements:
1- The author already knows, and either doesn't care because they're posting their perception of the subject.
2- The reader needs to feel valuable somewhere, and instantly has a disposition to the subject material so that they can use their voice in hopes that someone will listen.

I'm sure that if I made a posting on gravity, and how it makes things fall, I would have someone that would have to post an argument. I love that people want to say something.

However, especially as of recently, with the commentary that I've seen directed towards my friends, and towards my co-workers and towards everything out there, the negativity is getting ridiculous. Maybe it's the difference in generations. Maybe it's the difference in cultures having to clash by ease of access through modern conveniences. But any way that you look at it, it's very disconcerting.

They say "haters just gotta hate". I find that to be total and utter Bull Shit. I didn't particularly grow up in the most moral of surroundings, or the most proper or anything, but I sure as Hell watched Bambi at least once, maybe 3 times. 

For those of you that haven't seen Bambi, I'm going to spoil a couple things: it's about a deer, his mom dies, his best friend is a rabbit. He of course wins. Now, that all being said, Bambi's best friend is Thumper, the rabbit. Thumper is widely known, and I'll call you out if you try to tell me you have never heard this line, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all."

There's a lot to be said for common courtesy and kindness. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything. If you wouldn't actually say that to the person, in public, face to face, HONESTLY, then don't say it. I have had one guy criticize me to my face, and for that I respect him. I lack all respect for anyone, my friends included, for taking to their keyboards to do the talking for them.

Man the Fuck Up.