Recently, Anna Genoese commented on the "Pro" designation for RWA. I cringed. Not because of what she said. I agreed with her for the most part but I knew what would happen. My email inbox was going to be overloaded with upset Pro's eager to defend themselves. My prediction was correct.
I'm not really commenting on the whole "Pro" issue. What I am noticing is how touchy people are in cyberspace. Everyone gets their noses out of joint because of one person's opinion and that is all it is. An opinion. Words are given far more power than they actually have. Also, it is far easier to go off the handle with the anonymity of the Internet. You can afford to be touchy because you can walk away from it so easily. In every day life, we are confronted by annoyances and opinions which we don't agree with regularly. But the truth of the matter is that if we made a big deal out of every slight, we wouldn't be able to leave the house. Online, all we need do is turn off the machine and go about our day.
I'm not sure what my point is only that taking everything you read online as a personal attack is useless and counterproductive. And yes, my inbox was full of Pro's waving their virtual pitchforks and cheering their compadres on. My only thought was perhaps the energy they spent on the topic should have been poured into their writing.
There are enough serious matters in the real world without finding them in the virtual one.
Yeah, I'm a little cantankerous tonight. First, my kids are home for spring break and they are driving me nuts. As soon as I sit down at the computer, they surround me like rabid piranhas. Second, I got a notice from the water company that they are shutting my water off tomorrow all day. To say I'm not happy is a gross understatement. Its bad enough they've been digging up the only direct street to my house, now they shut the water off during spring break. No, I didn't whip off an angry email, I called them and let if fly. Like they care. No good SOB's and they are applying for a rate hike. Ah well, aggravation seems to trigger my creativity.
