You may not be aware that I have a group on FB dedicated to laughter.ย
There are occasional concerns from members that theyโre being attacked when in fact, theyโre beleifs are being challenged and they take it personally.
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So I wrote something to address the issue, and I think it speaks to some general issues that are helpful for all of us. So Iโm sharing it with you as wellโฆ.
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๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฅ๐ง๐๐ก๐ง ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฃ๐ข๐ฆ๐ง๐ฆ ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ ๐๐๐ก๐ ๐จ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ง๐๐ก๐:
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Yes, it is my intention that this group be a place where we feel safe to share what we want, and have a good laugh without things becoming personal.
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I’m atheist and poke fun at religion a lot. I also lean liberal and poke fun at other points of view. Now, I also realize I need to allow those with opposing views to do the same. It’s only fair play. That’s why I encourage you all to keep scrolling if something bugs you (๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ข๐จ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ข๐ค๐ฆ).
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Can I promise others won’t be bothered and engage those posts – NO, I can’t control other members? Nor do I want to sift through posts flagged because someone found them “๐ฐ๐ง๐ง๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ด๐ช๐ท๐ฆ”.
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What won’t be tolerated is a personal attack on someone because of the post (๐ฆ.๐จ. ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ต๐ถ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฅ, ๐ข ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฑ, ๐ฆ๐ต๐ค.). I’ll give someone a chance to self-correct, and delete the post with the personal criticism.
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We each deserve a chance to do better – which includes learning to choose our battles, and choose our responses.ย ๐๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ณ๐ฎ๐ถ๐น๐ ๐๐ผ ๐ฑ๐ผ ๐๐ผ – ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐’๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ผ๐๐, ๐ฝ๐น๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ฒ.
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This group is, and can be a respectful place, without it becoming an echo chamber for what I or anyone else believes. We aren’t here to reinforce our comfort zones. We’re hear to bond over the catharsis of laughter, and the healing benefits it provides us.
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This group isn’t a forum to convince anyone to think, act or believe differently – there are other forums for that. Being able to appreciate that other perspectives exist – whether you agree with them or not, is a reality of human society it makes more sense to accept than continuing to go to battle against at every turn. Especially at the expense of a good laugh.
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Considering I have a Master’s in Social Work – I’m highly cognizant of issues surrounding the various “๐ช๐ด๐ฎ๐ด”, I’m a staunch advocate of inclusion for disenfranchised segments of our population.
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With that, there have been posts I felt crossed a line for me personally. When I measure those posts against the guidelines of this group – they usually don’t break one of the rules – and don’t demand removal just because they bothered me. If anything, they serve as data for some of the attitudes I can address in other areas of my life (๐ฆ.๐จ. ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ธ๐ด๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐๐ข๐ค๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ, ๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฐ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ต๐ค).
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If you find yourself routinely triggered, emotionally reactive because you saw something that challenged a beliefย that’s very personal for you, I encourage you to reflect upon whether you have a belief that says, “๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ช๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ณ๐ถ๐ฆ” ๐ฐ๐ณ “๐๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฏ’๐ต ๐ฉ๐ข๐ท๐ฆ ๐ข ๐ณ๐ช๐จ๐ฉ๐ต ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ด๐ข๐บ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ด๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ช๐ฏ๐จ”.
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In a world as diverse as ours, those beliefs are going to leave you feeling like you’re being threatened at every turn.
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I hope what I’ve written here will suffice in providing clarification of my/the group’s position and purpose in regards to what we can and can’t post here.
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If this doesn’t work for you – it may be best for us to part ways so you can spend time where its best for you at this time. No hard feelings.
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Thanks for the joy, camaraderie and respect you bring to this group – when you embrace the spirit in which it is intended.
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Thanks for being you,
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Brian R. King, MSW
๐๐ญ๐๐๐ช๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ ๐๐ค๐ค๐๐๐๐ก๐ก
