Can we please stop throwing shade on social media... or in general? Whether it's at each other (and I've seen an increase of this these past couple of days) or at the new Papal encyclical (which has yet to be properly, officially released), there's a lot of comments that are completely unnecessary being thrown out there. Yes, this is the peacemaking side of me coming out.
Look, we don't have to agree on things. It's impossible for every single person to agree on everything. We don't have to like the decisions made or the words others choose to use when they're trying to make their point. You're entitled to your feelings and ideas... but why engage in a way that is counterproductive?
Do I need to remind others (just like I have to remind myself when I am upset) that God commanded us to love each other? This doesn't mean we have to like e everyone and/or what they stand for, but it does mean we should try to treat them in a way we'd like to be treated ourselves; in a way we'd treat Christ. "Ugh, but Emmy... that's so corny/cheesy/idealistic/*insert excuse*" you may say. Go ahead, give me your excuse. Do you have your excuse ready? Okay, now imagine you saying that exact same thing to God. "Ugh, but God... *insert excuse*" Do you think He'd say "Okay, you can throw shade because your feelings got hurt / because you disagree with them / because they made you mad"? I'm pretty certain He would not.
I'm not sure why the majority of us (and I do count myself in this because I've not been happy with how some people choose to interact with me on Twitter) seem crabby online but I think we owe it to ourselves to try to be more civil towards one another. It's not easy. I, myself, am pretty easygoing but once you push all my buttons it gets harder for me to not be feisty. See? I'm not saying "you guys do this..." No, I'm just as guilty of losing my cool online from time to time. So, as someone who totally sympathizes with y'all and knows how hard it is to turn the other cheek sometimes, I'm asking y'all please to at least try.
If someone is bothering you, block them... mute them... distance yourself from them. Do what you must (especially if you've already tried to diplomatically reason with/talk to them) to eliminate contact so that you don't fall into the never-ending cycle of throwing shade and subtweeting them. If the friendship is important enough that you want to work on it, pray for them, pray for patience for yourself, and try to communicate with them. If it's a troll... ignore. Do not feed the trolls!
As for the whole papal encyclical thing... I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always in 100% agreement with everything that Pope Francis says and does. He challenges me in ways I never expected. Despite not being a Pope Francis fan-girl (like I fan-girl over Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), I still acknowledge and respect the fact that he is the Vicar of Christ. This is just a friendly reminder for you non-sedes who are already starting to throw shade his way. Just saying.
Anyway, I just wanted to say this because I feel like people expect me to take sides in some arguments/disagreements (including over the encyclical) and I'm here to tell you that I'm not. I'll have my opinions about each situation, as well as the encyclical which I plan to read for myself to create my own opinions over it, but I'm not going to participate in the subtweeting. Sorry, it's just not going to happen.
By the way, with perfect timing, Sr. Helena Burns recently talked about subtweeting and being more conscientious about how we use social media on last week's episode of Life on the Rock. I highly recommend watching it if you haven't already.
Let's all take a deep breath, pray a Hail Mary (and a pray for St. Michael Archangel and/or St. Jerome if you're feeling particularly upset), and try to refocus our attentions on things that matter. Don't forget that the Evil one loves this kind of stuff. Don't let him win!
That's it from me for now. I'm going to get something to eat before the #USWNT vs Nigeria match in a bit. :)
As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D
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