LJ conflicts
I find it funny how some people misinterpret a comment and morph into an angry elephant. Homo sapiens are truly amazing creatures.
Recently, I had the pleasure of witnessing a transformation firsthand. Throughout the experience I maintained my equilibrium, being both compassionate and firm with this young woman (let's call her "Jane"). I'm not an expert on bipolarity or mood disorder, though I've seen many cases. Let's just say that this college student was experiencing some symptoms of one or both. Now that I think about it, the planetary orbit of Mars might have stirred something up in the female physiology, though I really don't want to go there. I know this: I made her delete her Live Journal...journal, as it were.
Early this week, Jane noted something like this in her journal: "Marge [friend from home] was at my school playing soccer. Darn. I would have gone out to see the girl's play had I known this information." I added this comment: "I guess school spirit is less important than posting on LJ." Heavy stuff, I know. Day or two later she responded, "Yeah, and I guess you need to get a life instead of commenting on an 18 year-old's journal when you just graduated a few months ago. Maybe you should concentrate on something more important like finding a job!" Whew! That was a mouthful.
I had the feeling that Jane didn't like my comment, and the fact that she deleted me from her friends list reinforced that suspicion. I scraped a response together; I had something better to say but was convinced that a decent apology would deflate the situation. Morkfard: "It was admittedly a glib comment. I'm sorry that you were offended by it." Did you catch the second half? I love backhanded remarks, and I was still in a good mood.
Jane, tragically, had abandoned good spirits however with this new journal entry: "My journal is changing to 'Friends Only.' If you are not on my friends list, please leave me a note." Did I do this? I think. I fumed for a bit because I wasn't cool enough to be on her friends list anymore.
This was getting tiresome, going back and forth like children. I finally gave in and composed a truthful response.
"Way to get on your high horse. I write ONE comment that angers you and you go completely ballistic. You've written similar jibes on my journal, and I've played along. And what's with this age disparity? You act as if the situation were improper. We're not in high school anymore! I'm certainly not looking for an online romance. You had Washington College on your interests page, which we have in common. That's it. In my opinion, your reaction is not becoming of you." I should have told her about Mars because...
A few hours later...Jane's Journal...vanished! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! What have I done?
Well, she has 30 days to undelete her journal. I hope she does.
Anyway, you can see what I have to go through on a day-to-day basis. Incomprehensible, I know. I feel the same way.
Recently, I had the pleasure of witnessing a transformation firsthand. Throughout the experience I maintained my equilibrium, being both compassionate and firm with this young woman (let's call her "Jane"). I'm not an expert on bipolarity or mood disorder, though I've seen many cases. Let's just say that this college student was experiencing some symptoms of one or both. Now that I think about it, the planetary orbit of Mars might have stirred something up in the female physiology, though I really don't want to go there. I know this: I made her delete her Live Journal...journal, as it were.
Early this week, Jane noted something like this in her journal: "Marge [friend from home] was at my school playing soccer. Darn. I would have gone out to see the girl's play had I known this information." I added this comment: "I guess school spirit is less important than posting on LJ." Heavy stuff, I know. Day or two later she responded, "Yeah, and I guess you need to get a life instead of commenting on an 18 year-old's journal when you just graduated a few months ago. Maybe you should concentrate on something more important like finding a job!" Whew! That was a mouthful.
I had the feeling that Jane didn't like my comment, and the fact that she deleted me from her friends list reinforced that suspicion. I scraped a response together; I had something better to say but was convinced that a decent apology would deflate the situation. Morkfard: "It was admittedly a glib comment. I'm sorry that you were offended by it." Did you catch the second half? I love backhanded remarks, and I was still in a good mood.
Jane, tragically, had abandoned good spirits however with this new journal entry: "My journal is changing to 'Friends Only.' If you are not on my friends list, please leave me a note." Did I do this? I think. I fumed for a bit because I wasn't cool enough to be on her friends list anymore.
This was getting tiresome, going back and forth like children. I finally gave in and composed a truthful response.
"Way to get on your high horse. I write ONE comment that angers you and you go completely ballistic. You've written similar jibes on my journal, and I've played along. And what's with this age disparity? You act as if the situation were improper. We're not in high school anymore! I'm certainly not looking for an online romance. You had Washington College on your interests page, which we have in common. That's it. In my opinion, your reaction is not becoming of you." I should have told her about Mars because...
A few hours later...Jane's Journal...vanished! Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! What have I done?
Well, she has 30 days to undelete her journal. I hope she does.
Anyway, you can see what I have to go through on a day-to-day basis. Incomprehensible, I know. I feel the same way.