Facing the Book............

Those of you who know me well know that Facebook is my happy place. A place where I can socialize with people while I'm chained by the boob to a sleeping baby doing nothing. Somewhere I can engage in a little adult conversation when I'm stuck at home with people who don't only talk about their bodily functions, diggers, Bob the Builder, the playground, and what they want to eat.

Now that the elections are over and with the holidays right around the corner, it makes me realize something about social networking sites and having a wide range of "friends"...............there is a wide range of what is/isn't appropriate to post about on a social networking website.

I was thinking about this last night when a friend (both in real life and on Facebook) asked this (on Facebook): "No one ever comments on posts involving REAL issues. Gotta talk about YOU, or what I had for dinner to get a response. Simply a reflection of what our society has become. Unfortunately..."

Now, I have a lot of pretty controversial opinions on a lot of things. Politically, I'm far enough left to be uncomfortable for a lot of folks, I have definitely made parenting choices that are "out there" by normal mainstream standards (cloth diapering, co-sleeping, birthing out of hospital, non-circumcising, just to name a few). I think it should be okay for gay people to be married (and that it's not a sin or morally wrong to be gay in the first place), legal to smoke pot if you want to, and that it's not okay to mess with the right to bear arms. Religion.......I'm not even going to go there, but I'm sure everyone would find some aspect of what I think surprising (from the holiest Christian to the most unbelieving Athiest).

The issue I have with sharing personal/political/religious beliefs on a social networking site is that I don't like to offend anyone. I have a wide range of contacts that range from high school acquaintances to close personal friends. Old work bosses, my in-laws, exes, family........all on there, and all know me in a different way than everyone else. Do I really want a professional reference to know what I think about E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G? Does that mom I met 3 weeks ago in playgroup really want to hear that the hospital birth story she described to me is basically my worst nightmare and that I had my babies with midwives at a birth center or at home? Do I want my very Christian relatives to know that tonight I'll be imbibing half a bottle of 3 Buck Chuck Merlot and watching a whole season of Sex And The City while I fold my laundry?

Actually, those are all things I would post on Facebook. Maybe those are bad examples. But I've offended people. I've literally gotten a personal message for something I've posted that somebody was bothered enough by to personal message me. I'm not going to describe the incident in detail, but I'll just say that I didn't think I was being rude, offensive, or trashing anyone's personal beliefs/decisions (just stating my opinion on what I thought was a non-out-there topic). I'm kind of live-and-let-live when it comes to those kind of things. You do what you need to do, and I'll do what I need to do. If I do X, I'm not saying it's wrong to do Y.

I would like to say to anyone that reads this (all 3 of you), that everyone I'm friends with on a site like Facebook is special to me in some way........seriously. Each one has a unique relationship to me that means something. I literally don't friend people who I don't remember fondly in some way, or who I don't think serves a unique purpose in my life/social circle, and yes, the few "car accident" people (y'know, you can't look, but you can't look away?). Is it bad to tone things down so as not to offend people, or to choose not to share personal beliefs on a more public forum?

I must admit, though, it was funny for me to log into Facebook yesterday......Veteran's Day, just in case you didn't have work/school off, ever serve in the military, or have been living under a rock your whole life. So many people posting the same exact thing, and I highly suspect most of them don't actually give a sh** about veterans. But, as another real life (and yes, Facebook) friend says, "It's soooo easy to cut and paste!" Also kind of weird to log in on Easter and see "JESUS HAS RISEN" on 10 people's news feeds.

To wrap this up (I can hear Owen about to wake up), if you like to post about personal things and it's important to you, cool. It's good to have things to care about. I may judge in my mind, but I don't take it too personally or lose sleep over it. If I post on a topic you find offensive, you can be assured I didn't do it to piss you off. Can't we all just put on our big girl panties and get along? Love ya!