Warning: I am in a bad mood. And that means I am about to rip on someone or many someones. If you are easily offended, don't read this. If you think I am about to rip on you, you are probably right and you probably shouldn't read this. And if you think I care that your feelings may be hurt, then don't read this - or don't comment when you do. In fact, don't comment at all. I don't really care.
I have 464 friends on Facebook. I have 750 followers on Twitter. I was not a math major in college but that is 1,214 fucking people who either think they are friends of mine or think I have some bullshit to say that is interesting enough that they read my 140 character crap. 1,214 people. Keep that number in mind.
I started a page on Facebook called the 31 days of giving. Let me explain: during November, or Yesvember, as we call it around here with friends of ours, these morons on Facebook post something that they are thankful for every day of the month. Day 1: I am thankful for our freedom. Great. They don't actually thank the servicemembers who keep us free (thanks Joe and your colleagues), they just thank freedom, as if freedom cares. By day 20, I see crap like this: Day 20: I am thankful for coffee. Seriously? You are thankful for a fucking cup of coffee? Really? What the hell has coffee done for you to make your life a bit better? Nothing. Is it the caffeine that you are thankful for? Is it the flavor? Is it your mocha syrup? Thank fucking Starbucks, but don't tell me you are thankful for coffee. Thats garbage.
Anyway, I got tired of reading what all of these people are thankful for. No one actually does anything about it. They just post what they are thankful for. By the way, if you want a list of what I am thankful for, you can get one: wife, kids, good friends, clients who appreciate me, my parents who taught me to bust my hairy white ass to support my family, my grandparents who taught me that its not what you have in life, but that you have life, my doctor, the servicemembers who are actually keeping me free, the cops who keep us safe, the firefighters who run into burning buildings when the rest of us run out. And that is in about 10 seconds without even thinking about it.
So, what good is being thankful if you don't back it up. Its one thing to say you are thankful. Its something different to show you are thankful. I think its shit. It doesnt matter what you say. Whats the old expression: your actions speak louder than your words. So put up or shut up, right? I put up. I started this group. Every fucking day I go out and do something to give to someone else. Then I post about it. Its nothing major. And its something I try to do when I can anyway. I volunteer at my kid's school. I help the elderly. I will buy a cup of coffee for someone when I can. I do the Untied Way (google it and spell it properly, its not the United Way, its the Untied Way) every year.
But I was trying to make a difference. If I do 31 things this month to make the world a better place, I have helped 31 people. If 1,214 do 31 things this month, its 37,634 people who have been helped. Yes, that is 1,214 times more people than if I do it by myself. I get the math. But what if each of those people who were helped, did just one thing this month to help someone else? Then, I would be able to help 62 people by myself, but together over 75,000 people would be helped. Now, imagine that the 1,214 people, as one of their acts, write about this program. And then they get 1,214 people to join. That is 2,428 people. Then we help that same 75,000 people. But, we then can reach 150,000 people because every one of those 75,000 people has helped someone else.
Do you know why pyramid schemes fail? Its the fucking math. Look, I start a scam and get 10 people to join. They each get 10 people to join. We are now at 100 people. They get 10 people and we are at 1,000 people. They get 10 people who get 10 more people and we are at 100,000. They each get 10 people who get 10 more people and we are at 10,000,000. 7 levels in and you are at the size of New York freaking City. 8 levels and you are at 100,000,000 people. 9 levels and you are at India's population. It is not sustainable. There is no one to sell your crap to because everyone is in your group. Make sense?
Well, think if you did it the opposite way? Think of what a difference 1,214 people can make. Lets be more realistic. Half those people don't like me. So I have 600 people. Those 600 people each have 10 people willing to do this. Those 6,000 people then get 10 more each. Now I am at 60,000 people. I am at 1,860,000 good deeds done during December. That is not a typo. Do the fucking math. Over 1,000,000 good deeds in a month if just half of the people who know me did something. How much better of a world would this be?
But do you know what happens? 29 people join. 29 people, most of whom I assume like me, join in. Yay 29 people. I'm sorry. You can post about how fucking thankful you are for coffee or your piece of crap DJs in the morning, but you cannot join a group and do one nice thing for someone else each day? In the amount of time you spent in November wowing us with your thankfulness, you could actually do something to help someone. To help 31 someones. Is it really that hard?
So, 1,185 of these people have absolutely no interest in my idea. Fine. Some of these people don't want the world to be a better place. Some of them are just assholes. Some of them don't care. Some of them, probably a lot of them, think I am an asshole. I am fine with that.
But please understand the next time you need something and suddenly my phone doesn't get answered, your emails don't get returned or your text messages are responded to with silence. You don't have to like this. You don't have to get involved. And I don't have to help you. Maybe quid pro quo isn't the right way to go. Maybe many of you, all of you even, are going to be offended by this. Fine. Be offended. I don't really care anymore.
I listened to fun the other night. Some nights came on the radio. Go to Youtube if you don't know what I am talking about. The lyrics:
But I still wake up, I still see your ghost
Oh Lord, I'm still not sure, what I stand for oh oh oh
What do I stand for? Oh what do I stand for?
Most nights, I don't know anymore
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This blog serves one purpose: for me to rant. That is it. If you have ideas or comments, please post them. If you have a topic you want me to rant on, please let me know. But, most of all, enjoy!
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