Who Was Hoaxed?
This guy on the internet wrote about doing this morally questionable thing, and the masses rejoiced -- celebrating him as a hero. Others, myself included, were disturbed at the public reaction of support for his behaviour and wrote posts, Facebook messages, or tweets trying to figure out why spreading negativity was worthy of heroism. Unable to keep up the facade, this guy posts that it was all a hoax.
My question is, who was hoaxed?
He revealed himself as a shyster, but he accomplished his goal of name recognition, increasing his Twitter following, and likely derived a lot of pleasure from the entertaining feeding frenzy that ensued, so clearly he wasn't hoaxed.
Some of us were shocked by a very real public reaction to a supposedly real event, and disturbed by the reaction to his supposed actions. We were not hoaxed.
Which leaves us with his supporters and apologists:
They were hoaxed. They were tricked into revealing their inner glee at his behaviour -- at revelling in the idea that he was enacting all the inner fantasies when they are faced with difficult people.
There is a beautiful irony in that, I think.
I like to look at the positive side of things, when at all possible, and I think there is potential for goodness here.
So, lying guy on the internet, thank you for reminding us all of the seedy underbelly of human nature -- the part that enjoys inflicting discomfort and relishes watching people get knocked down a peg or two. May we keep it in mind as we head into our holiday seasons and use it as a reminder to take a moment to be kind and helpful, and to exercise patience and tolerance instead of anger and judgement.
May we take a moment to act from a place of compassion.
When I'm feeling harried or rushed, or frustrated with my kids (and I have 3 -- there is a lot of opportunity for that), I will pause and make a conscious decision to react in a better way. #NotElan
Elan, this is coming from a place of compassion, so please take it in the way it is intended. Here is another well-known story I think you might want to read. I fear that someday it is going to carry a great deal of significance for you: