“But she caught me on the counter (It wasn’t me)
Saw me bangin’ on the sofa (It wasn’t me)
I even had her in the shower (It wasn’t me)
She even caught me on camera (It wasn’t me)”– Shaggy
We deviate from the world of classic rock and roll into the world of hip hop for today’s opening quote. Obviously, the news dictated today’s topic in part, but it was inspired a whole lot closer to home. In a fit of honesty, I’d admit that this came immediately to mind when reading a friend’s Facebook post and while his post is forefront in my mind, we’ve all seen this numerous times before.
I’m almost certain that I’ve mentioned it here before as well. Lets begin with current events and then bring it a lot closer to home. Marjorie Taylor Green (the notorious MTG?) had her committee assignments stripped from her in resounding fashion (even 11 Republicans voted in favor of it). However, she said her piece to the Republican caucus the night before. The fact that reportedly half of the caucus gave her a standing ovation is telling.
She sort of apologized. I mean she kind of walked things back. Except she didn’t apologize and she didn’t walk things back. She admitted that 9/11 happened. However, the most peculiar statement was that “she was allowed” to believe the things she believed. I’m not even sure what that means, but I have an inkling after dealing with my friend.
He posted a copy of someone’s tweet on an issue. We were bumping along and having a decent enough discussion when another poster questioned him on the offensiveness of the language in the tweet. Well, he didn’t say it. It wasn’t his tweet. So, he is expecting us to absolve him of any responsibility because he was just quoting someone else.
I’ve run into this before with other friends and family on other issues. Someone posts a meme or copies a post from someone else that throws out a bunch of conspiracy theories that have been proven false. They usually do the online equivalent of pumping their fist at what they just posted. Yet, when challenged and questioned about whether they believe the conspiracies or wild statements they plead ignorance. It wasn’t their tweet or meme after all.
So, whether the problem is a conspiracy theory, wild statement, or simply offensive content they carry no responsibility. It wasn’t their opinion. They were just being kind enough to share it. Of course, this begs the question of why they were sharing it in the first place. Naturally, some people share offensive content to highlight things they are against. This diatribe isn’t really meant for them, but then again if you are opposing an idea you make it well-known that you are against it.
This brings us full circle to MTG. I’m guessing that the meaning of her cryptic statement is that many of her offensive posts and videos weren’t really her opinions. She was just forwarding on other people’s ideas. It was so kind of her to share. So, even though the words were coming out of her mouth and the vitriol seemed so real it really wasn’t real. At least it wasn’t her. At least half of the people in that room the other night seem to buy that load of BS.
Yet, this is how stuff like this spreads. It is spread by “good” people that simply repeat offensive or questionable content because they are able to be insulated from criticism because the opinion they are sharing isn’t theirs. Except it is. That’s the whole point. Who we are is made up of the combination of what we do and what we say. When we tell an offensive joke or share demonstrable lie, that is who we are. We aren’t perfect and all of us have said offensive things. So, I’m not burying anyone on that level. I just want people to own what they say whether it was them saying it or simply forwarding along someone else’s crap.
halloffameindex 