FLASHBACK july 2011

*NOTE: after seeing many "untruths" posted on facebook the past few days, i felt a need to re~post this with an important side note...
"i told you, i was trouble...you know that i'm no good"
like i do almost every morning, i get my cup of coffee, get comfy, and scroll thru facebook. the news is on and i hear a story that makes me sad. amy winehouse has died. i've been waiting 5 long years on a follow~up to "back to black" that will never come. boo. i realize she was an alcoholic and drug addict. her death was imminent. i'm still sad. i post a status update "rip amy winehouse (14 sept 1983~23 jul 2011). not that i'm surprised, but i am still sad. yet another member of the 27 club...:'( ". other people post nearly the same thing. within a few hours another post catches my attention. it says, roughly, "while you are mourning the loss of a drug addict, what about the 11 soldiers killed in a helicopter in afghanistan. you should be mourning them..". what? i've been watching the news all day and haven't heard a thing about this. i look it up on google. i can't find anything. finally, i see it. it happened in 2007. wait? so, you (invisible facebook user) are assuming i DIDN'T mourn the loss of these soldiers when it happened?
FLASH FORWARD today
i am scrolling thru my facebook this morning and run across this:

i've seen it before, but i'm curious. why does it specifically say "and NBC - this one's for you!? so i go to snopes.com. turns out, nbc (like many other news networks) posted a poll asking if people thought "under god" should be removed from the pledge of allegiance. overwhelmingly, people said it should be left in. so, what's the problem? nbc wasn't saying it should be removed. in fact, they were posing the question because, everyday, someone is wanting "god" removed from the pledge of allegiance, or currency, or court rooms. it wasn't meant to be a statement against god, just to get a true reflection of how americans feel. 

i see stuff like this daily on facebook. "you hate jesus if you don't repost this". "you want to kill puppies if you don't repost this". "you want to see this baby die if you don't repost this picture". okay people!! let's get this straight: i don't hate jesus...but i'm not reposting this. i don't want to kill puppies...but i'm not reposting this. i don't want to see this baby die...but i'm not reposting this. 

here are some things you should be aware of when reposting:

#1~the pictures of the sick children: i did a little bit of research and found out that some of these kids aren't actually sick or have already passed (a pic of an adopted vietnamese child with a cancerous tumor on his face is in fact cancer free. he never had cancer, that was a hematoma that has since been removed. and another pic shows a little girl that has been dead for 4 years. her parents are devastated that the pic is in circulation and being used to convince posters that facebook will donate a $1 to cancer research if you repost). ps...facebook doesn't donate money to cancer research based on how many "likes" or "shares" a pic gets. 

#2~jesus won't be upset with you if you don't repost. i have no way of researching this one, but i am CERTAIN that god and jesus have a lot more to worry about than whether or not i am copying and pasting status updates declaring my belief. i am NOT saying you shouldn't repost these, should you feel compelled...i'm just saying: don't judge your friends for their refusal to follow suit. 

#3~don't believe everything you read on facebook. if you read, for example, that "cardinal blew up kim's shiz with her mind", it might be false. never~mind that i, in fact, CAN blow up people's shiz with my mind...just because someone said it on facebook doesn't make it true. i suggest checking your facts before reposting. 

#4~you won't be saving a puppy's (or kitten's) life by reposting that pic (with the exception of pics from animal shelters asking you to adopt, someone might see that pic and adopt the sweet angel. just be sure to check the date of the original post). and, should you choose to repost and your friends refuse? don't worry. your friends don't want to kill puppies or kittens, either. they just don't want to fill up your newsfeed with pics you've already posted. 

how do i research it if, in fact, not everything on the internet is true, you ask? use good judgement when researching. if it sounds fake, it probably is. also, if you can find several sources saying it's true, it just might be. 

happy posting!!

^false!! facebook is always blue and they aren't going to charge you^

ps...ps...ps...i never (well...hardly ever) repost anything so don't be insulted if i comment on your status and then refuse to copy and paste. i still love you, i just don't feel like playing the game ;)

IMPORTANT NOTE: facebook has become a useful tool in finding missing persons and runaways, and i am not suggesting that you not re~post these...please, please do!