Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

Contrary (adj.): 2. Perversely inclined to disagree or to do the opposite of what is expected or desired. 

Does this ever happen to anyone else?

You're scrolling your Facebook feed, and all the sudden you see it. You see something with which you do not wholly agree!

What do you do?  Do you keep on scrolling, finding things and pictures of cute babies/pets to 'like'?  That would be the wise thing, wouldn't it?  It would keep you from rustling any feathers with your hundreds of acquaintances and their acquaintances. But, then, no one would know how you Feel!

And that, you decide, would be an absolute travesty--a tragedy in its highest measure!  So, you don't scroll, do you?  No.  You click 'comment' and let your opinion be known!

And then in five minutes, the owner of the post comments, and five minutes after that you offer your rebuttal and so on and so forth, etc., etc., forever and ever amen. Then, people you don't even know start chiming in, usually to 'stick up' for their friend, though sometimes to agree with you, which stretches the comment boxes even further down the page.  It seemingly never ends, until one of you forgets about it, or gets too busy to reply/debate/condescend.

Okay, so I posed a rhetorical question at the beginning of this entry, but I already know the answer.  It DOES sometimes happen to you, because it happens on my statuses quite frequently, unless I post some poetic lyric or quote, and even then, sometimes it does.

But, I often find myself commenting on things I don't really care about.  For instance, this past Columbus Day, several people were posting anti-Columbus sentiments, and apparently I just couldn't let it go.

Now, let me be clear: I don't care one way or the other about Columbus.  I'm not some pro-Columbus groupie who thinks we should all celebrate and bake cakes in honor of the man that was Columbus.  No, I don't each year have a Columbus party where you must dress up as the Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria or Columbus himself, or be subjected to ridicule.  Neither, I imagine, do most people

My relationship with Columbus Day goes this far:
1) Awesome! I have the day off work/school!  I'm going to sleep in, then spend all day lounging in my PJs and not wash my hair all day!
or:
2) Man!  I wish I had Columbus Day off of school/work!  I totally need to sleep in, then spend all day lounging in my PJs and not wash my hair all day!

That's it.  Those are the two sentiments I have ever had in my entire life about Columbus Day.  And yet, here I was on Columbus Day 2013, feeling compelled to put my two-cents in on anti-Columbus day posts.  (For reference, my argument was: okay, why not boycott Thanksgiving, etc.?  Also, making an appearance was the argument that people don't really 'celebrate' Columbus Day, along with a cameo by the fact that Columbus was Italian or Spanish or whatever, and therefore the crimes and atrocities he committed were in Italy's or Spain's name, not the U.S.)

What compelled me?  I'm not sure.  In fact, I'm never sure.  Nor am I sure what compels the multitude of people that must comment on my statuses where I express opinions.  I've even gotten better about it... sometimes, whilst scrolling, I just roll my eyes, and move on to the next dog video.

But, when I do it, when I break down and comment on someone else's opinion post, with my contrary opinion that [usually] doesn't mean that much to me, and sometimes even when I manage to avoid it, I can't help but wonder 'why?'

And, I'm certainly not the only one.  Don't get me wrong, there are things I feel passionate about and feel the need to speak out over. In some instances, I've even deleted facebook friends over it (that's a story for a different blog).  But, for the most part, it's trivial stuff that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things--stuff that doesn't really hold a place in my Top Ten Things I Care About. And I know it has to be the same for other people, because sometimes the things people take issue with on my status updates are extraordinarily trivial.  So, the question remains: 'why?'

Does it have to do with the fact that most of us are no longer in school?  School, for me, was a place where I could answer questions, feel knowledgeable about something, or express my opinion (especially in college, this was the case).  Now that I no longer have that, is it causing me to reach out in some unexplainable oftentimes annoying way via Facebook?  I'm not sure, but it sounds like a legitimate argument.  Is it that I no longer have a valid place to express my opinions/thoughts/ideas that leads me to the comment section on your Facebook post?  Is it what leads you to mine?  Do we just want to be heard?

What do you think?

If this is what is causing this phenomenon (that I have so expertly named 'being contrary simply to be contrary')--Don't worry, my friends, I hear you!  Your comments annoy me sometimes (as I'm certain mine do you), but I hear you nonetheless!

For the most part, I stick to quotes I like from novels or songs, or pictures/stories of my dog Cash and his escapades.  But, now and again, I'll express an opinion about say, cilantro... and you know what I say when I am watching the loading bar at the top of my page, Facebook friends?  Bring it on.

Because if we can't debate about a vegetable or holiday or which fast food restaurant has the best french fries (it's McDonald's, by the way,), then I just don't know what the world has even come to.

Peace, love, debate, and cilantro, my friends.

And healthy teeth.  Another thing to debate about: GoFundMe pages! I've created one for Cash, whose dental work will be extensive-- if you don't want to, or can't afford to donate, I totally understand--but every dollar helps ease the burden: Cash's Pearly Whites