Yesterday, I wrote a pretty personal diary about my son and children in general. Over 95% (at least) of the readers understood that the point was about children and war and the very different and scary lives they are forced to lead and endure relative to those that so many people that I know lead.
The statement was about children, and frankly my point was one that was so basic that even though I didn't think it mattered much, I said the following:
It really doesn’t matter who did what first. It really doesn’t matter what happened last week, last month, last year, last century or whenever. The feelings and love that parents have for their kids are pretty much universal – it doesn’t matter what you worship, if you don’t worship, what color your skin is, what country you live in or how much money you have.
Pretty fucking clear, if you ask me. I had some pictures from Iraq, Afghanistan and a story about the Mumbai attacks and the impact on children's psyche. And, not that it should matter in the least (in the context of that diary), I made the cardinal sin of putting a picture of Palestinian children and no picture of Israeli children (mind you - you won't find one diary or comment before yesterday from me about Israel or Palestine). I could just as easily have put in a picture of Pakistani children, British children after the London bombings, Spanish children after the bombings, children in Darfur, Bali or pretty much anywhere else (of course, including Israel) instead of the picture of Palestinian children.
But I didn't, because, frankly google gave me 4 pictures pretty quickly when I searched for "children attack bombing" - and the origin of the pics were pretty much secondary to my point, if there was even something that could be considered another point I was trying to make (I wasn't). Whether I "should have" thought about it is debatable - I don't read or write about the topic, while I have written countless times about Iraq and Afghanistan.
There were some who pointed it out in a non-controversial way, and I explained myself. And that was that.
And, with many more people here (not to mention some very heated debates over more than a couple of topics lately), it seems as though there are some - whether it is about race, war, religion, social issues or whatever else, some people are hell bent on bringing their pissing match into other diaries for whatever reason they feel is so very important.
Yeah, it happened in my diary yesterday, but it has happened in so many others in a number of other topics. And frankly, it is a real dick move to do so - showing a stunning lack of social skills or the smallest amount of respect for anyone that calls bullshit.
Sure, this is a public forum and no, I have no pull here other than a frequent diarist, but if you want to discuss something with someone who doesn't want to discuss it, or if it is off topic - even if you can find some string that ties your topic into the comment thread or diary - use some common courtesy and find a diary to do it in.
Better yet, write your own diary and take the discussion wherever you want it.
But it really isn't cool to be a turd in the punchbowl.
And if you insist on being an asshole, don't act shocked when you are called out for the asshole that you are.
Lastly, I still don't want to have a discussion about Israel and Palestine and what is going on there. If anyone else does then take it elsewhere. If you still must do it here, that will prove my point even further.