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#100DaysOfHopper Day 6-8

Day 6: I have friends who have kids who are wheelchair bound, have cerebral palsy, autism, cancer, etc. So tell me again how your kid's 101 fever is worthy of an emergency room visit.

At the age of 42, I'd lost my mother, all four grandparents, a sister (not to death) and a handful of friends. Sorry, I don't understand what you're dealing with having to put down your cat.

Unemployment, homelessness, uninsured - sorry about your commute, your weed problem and your 25 minute doctor's office wait.

Facebook is filled with people who feel unloved, unappreciated and alone. Yet, when they are happy, it's usually due to some self serving event that benefits nobody but that individual. So many of you are selfless, caring and honest people. You face things greater than anyone can imagine and you never ask "why me?" To those of you, I applaud you and I'd shake your hand, but as I see, they are full. #100DaysOfHopper


Day 7 has vanished. Hope I didn't make fun of Mark Zuckenberg


Day 8: Why does another's pain invigorate us? Why is there pleasure derived from another's suffering? Why are social media reactions to someone's problems acceptable, when they'd be frowned upon publicly?

Aside from my joker friends, I'm always shocked by what posts get reactions, be it a like or a comment. I once posted that I was in a lot of pain and it was affecting other parts of my life. A handful of likes and nearly two dozen people telling me what I should do. I should add, only three mentioned feeling better. Then on another day, I mentioned good news and not a single click. I'm using two examples to summarize my time on Facebook.

The other day a friend posted about feeling alone. Likes and comments up the wazoo, but two days letter, her "feeling blessed" status garnered a single like. Why is this? Why do we embrace others dismay, while ignoring their triumphs? Someone posts their child is sick and suddenly Facebook is Grey's Anatomy, yet a $100 scratch off and the crickets harmonize the winner's success.

Are we all so petty? Do we really favor the negatives over the positives? I wrote funny story after funny story about my grandmother for four years. Three likes or comments were a lot, but when posting of her death, the number was in the 50's. So why then do these same people who crave despair, post countless memes of inspiration and living life to the fullest? I wish I had the answer, but I jokingly said "like" out loud when someone mentioned a minor problem. They got it and subsequently get me, so we laughed, but then discussed how much Facebook has dehumanized and desensitized us to others sorrow. So much so, we text our condolences now instead of being there for those we call friends. #100DaysOfHopper


 Day 8 (part 2): Just got a tip about racist, homophobic and hateful rhetoric on a "friends" page and must admit, the scariest thing isn't the postings, but the fact this person would swear they aren't racist or homophobic and that they love everyone. Just cause you say you love Jesus, Allah, YHWH or Xenu doesn't mean you get it.

Seriously, it's 2014 and we live in a culturally diverse world and if you haven't embraced people's differences as a positive yet, then the only thing you share with anyone else is ignorance. Ignorance breeds hatred and hatred is tought, so if you look down on someone because of their skin tone, their dress, their religious affiliation or any other defining characteristic of their heritage or ethnicity, then you are ignorant and were raised by ignorant people, who never took the time to educate themselves or their children. The only thing worth hating in this world is ignorance and those who embrace it.

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