The Back Button

As I'm cleaning the bathroom today, I'm thinking that I have a lot of great tips for how to really get the bathroom clean and perhaps I should post them on my blog. My blog. My poor forgotten blog that I visit about once per year and add a post about how I'm going to change everything. Poor blog. Anyway, I realized that I was thinking I probably should not post my cleaning tips because not one of my cleaning products is at all natural, and therefore, worthy of being poo-pooed by some random mommy that only uses vinegar to clean pee off of her boy's bathroom floor. And I continued to ponder why I felt that way and realized it wasn't right. I aksed, what is wrong with people? Why have we gotten so far that it isn't ok to admit that you use bleach on a mold spot on your shower? Or that you love Windex for it's ability to get a mirror nice and shinny without streaks. Or that when you are finished with your difficult task of defunking (is that a word?) the bathroom that you can't admit that you sat down with a Diet Coke? So there you are. It's out there for all to comment upon. And I'm writing a manifesto against it.

 I remember a couple years ago, another blogger had kindly posted a freezer meal plan. She took time out of her day to bless us with how she pulled off filling her freezer. Do you know what the comments said? She had used too many plastic bags and she was a glutton for all the food she was packing away. How could she be so terrible to want to feed her family?

And what about a post that I saw yesterday that was about steps you could take to make your mornings smoother? This mom proposed that you could have a 5-day meal plan and offered some suggestions for meals. Another mom commented on pinterest that she doesn't know anybody that could afford to make those meals.

Or the multitude of other recipes offered out there by bloggers all over. "We only eat clean." "Won't fit my paleo plan." Or, "Great. But my family doesn't eat wheat." And maybe the recipes tout that it uses only ingredients from Aldi? Which naturally comes with a poster warning about the additives in the food or that the beef has been suspected to contain horse meat. The warning posts drive me crazy!

Or a facebook personality that I follow that lost over 100 pounds on Weight Watchers. People have the nerve to tell her that low carb/high protein is the only way to lose weight and that her meals have too many carbs. She has told them multiple times that she doesn't eat low carb.

And then there's always the apology post. Apologizing for using only white flour because that's what you had or PB2 (frankenfood, I guess) instead of peanut flour? I noticed more and more bloggers and forum posters feeling the need to explain themselves for their choices ahead of time because they already know that someone will take the discussion down that path.

You can probably tell that I read a lot of blogs, facebook, and forums. I've watched the above trends continue to build over the years and I am concerned about the subtle bullying and smugness that is pervasive throughout many posters in these communities. Why can't we keep our own opinions to ourselves or maybe even just think about whether or not the opinion is even appropriate? You do realize that you can think it and not say it, right? Not everyone eats the same way. There are probably 100s of diet plans out there that all have information that contradict each other. And not everyone has thought through the latest environmental news on plastic bags. Or insert whatever topic that really didn't ask for your opinion because the article was trying to give you something useful.

Why do we continue to pick and pick and pick? Is it really that hard to think, "Hmm, that doesn't fit what I need, so I'll hit the back button and keep searching until I find something that does fit?" instead of leaving a smug comment?

Please understand, that I'm not saying that some posts don't lend themselves to discussion and that you can't post your opinion, I'm just asking that you consider some things before you post your smug reply.

THINK

Is it True?
Is it Helpful?
Is it Inspiring?
Is it Necessary?
Is it Kind?

Yes, clichés are necessary especially when they drive home a point and give us a nice formula. Really think about the author or poster's heart before you try to pull them down. Think about what type of reply you would like if you posted something on your blog or facebook page.

I know, I know. I just made the internet angry. Long live the back button!