Mar 16, 2012
There are people who may say negative things about a person or company online without a “valid reason to be angry.” Josh Catone, of Mashable, defined this type of person as a Troll. Trolls post negative comments – no matter if they are true or not.
Trolls sometimes THINK what they are saying is true (defined as connecting imaginary dots), but it seems that most often times, they simply don’t care. They just wanna’ hate.
So what do you do if you find yourself face-to-face with a Troll?
What you can’t do is fight fire with fire. That’s what a Troll wants – attention. What they post publically online while remaining anonymous has but one purpose – to elicit an emotional response – either from you or from those they reach out to in your business or personal circle. And sometimes, they take their trolling offline and aspire to be a bigger, fatter, and an even more important ugly Troll!
Tom Postmes, author, professor, and researcher of online behavior for 20 years, says, “Trolls aspire to violence, to the level of trouble they can cause…” He continues, “They want to promote antipathetic emotions of disgust and outrage, which morbidly gives them a sense of pleasure.”
One thing is certain — you can’t feed Trolls.
Please don’t think that ignoring these low creatures will make them go away. Not gonna’ happen. They are Trolls, after all.
The good news? If your very own personal Troll continues to go to extreme lengths in their attempts at eliciting emotional reactions, it’s not long before they are recognized for what they truly are and ignored. Their agenda of taking delight in causing trouble is squashed when the emotional response triggered is a new and positive emotional bond WITH YOU that would not have been formed without their interference. It’s like new growth — sorta’ like spring.
Perry pointed out our trees are in full bloom already. Spring is early this year — in more ways than one!
Mar 15, 2012
Every parent has a different view on how to discipline their children. I made a ton of mistakes with Ben and can think of a bajillion things I would do differently if I could have a do-over. But I don’t think I was crazy strict — nor did I allow a child to control me or our home. As a young mother, I spanked hands when they reached for things that would hurt them — and I spanked legs when the mouth said things it shouldn’t, or the brain refused to follow the rules. Never did I curse AT my child, or discipline in anger. In my house, the worry about what was going to happen was much worse than what really did. If I got a do-over, I wouldn’t change that. I wouldn’t change it because it’s what worked at the time.
I was an adult before I put it all together that my Dad never once even spanked me! He loved to lecture, and shame us into ‘being good’. That works for discipline too — ask me. Dad would gather Scott and I around the table when we did something wrong, talk about walking uphill to school in the snow wearing his older brother’s shoes that didn’t fit (there were 13 siblings — the younger you were and the lower on the pecking order, the more hand-me-downs you claimed and the fewer new items you got), and being happy to get only an orange at Christmas. I would cry and promise to never do whatever horrible thing I did again. Ever. Scott was older and wiser and not so easily manipulated. Dad spanked him. My parents did what worked.
I don’t claim to know the “right” answer insofar as HOW to discipline children, but I do believe they NEED discipline. I think moderation is key… but no one can agree on what ‘moderate’ is. I think another problem (a mistake I definitely made!), is we want better for our children than we had. Of course, each generation has to give more, do more and BE more just to provide “better than I had” for their kids.
For Coco… I wish just “as good as I had”… healthy, happy, blessed with everything I needed, and some of what I wanted. As for Ben? Even with all my mistakes, I’m proud of the outcome. =)
Mar 14, 2012
I have the best job on the planet (and some days, the freaking WORST job on the planet) — I am responsible for making my brother work. Like a slave sometimes. The thrill of getting even for all those “Mommmm…. please don’t make me take HER with us” moments is rewarding. I wear many hats in a day’s time, but the most important thing I do is simply… be nice.
EVERYTHING matters.
When I have days like the one I suffered through yesterday, I’ve found that just getting up for 15 minutes helps. The weather was incredible — and that short walk down the road helped put everything in perspective. Sometimes, it’s so darned hard to just be nice.
Mar 13, 2012
I read yesterday about the school bus crash on Indy’s east side. It’s just horrible — the bus driver and a child dead, others hurt, one child stuck under the front wheel of the school bus for quite some time, but last I heard still alive (not sure how THAT happened).
Of course, I have no clue who was at fault in the accident, but I do know a few things about driving a school bus. I know that driver’s are most often hired on the basis of how cheaply they will take the job — at least that’s the way it is in the Ville. I know that school buses are an annoyance to drivers heading to work, and I know drivers do crazy things to outrun a bus as to not be delayed. I know that kids are turds. ALL kids are turds y’all. Yes, even yours. While I’m sure we’ll hear more insofar as the cause — why exactly that bus hit a big ole’ support beam — it will most likely be determined by someone who has never had the privilege of actually driving one.
Several years ago, I was driving my school bus loaded with about 40 students on Bethany Road heading toward the school. With a child standing standing near the road’s edge on my left to pick-up, I look ahead a good distance and see a large lumber truck (from a Seymour, IN company I will not name) coming to meet me. I start the amber lights flashing (warning the truck I’m going to be stopping waaaay in advance), and slow to a stop — at which time the stop-arm comes out and all the amber lights turn to red. I see the truck isn’t slowing down. Knees turning to jello, I yell for the child NOT to cross, but to instead GET BACK. Luckily, his Mother was standing waiting with him, heard my screams and pulled him farther back in the driveway. Bethany Road is narrow when you’ve got two very large vehicles meeting one another on it.
And get this… the lumber truck was SO CLOSE to the bus, that it tore the stop-arm that extends about 12 inches from the side of the bus right off!!
The truck finally stops (a good bit behind the bus before it could slow down enough to GET stopped) and the driver moseys up toward us. I have the bus turned off, the key in my pocket, ordered the kids to remain seated and am off that bus before he even gets close. The child waiting to be picked up is fine. By the time the driver of the truck gets to me, I admit, I’m LIVID.
Me: WHY DIDN’T YOU STOP???
Him: I didn’t even see you.
School buses haul the world’s most precious cargo. Good bus drivers know this, and pay more attention when driving that y’all can even imagine. I certainly don’t mean to place blame elsewhere, but I know from experience, a million factors could’ve contributed. But again… oftentimes precious cargo is transported by whoever (or whatever) will do it cheapest. Tax dollars are often appropriated for nicer classrooms, flashy signs and great landscaping, but it’s my opinion transportation dollars need to be of greater focus. Case in point? A Hamilton County bus driver arrested Saturday faces eight counts of child molestation after police say a video camera showing some of the acts was discovered in his home.
Mar 12, 2012
I took the photo on a day when we had the most snow of the year to date. Maybe 1/4 inch. Forecast for Wednesday is 74 degrees. It’s really hard to believe what kind of winter we didn’t have this year.
And cleaning through all the photos I haven’t shared, I found this one — taken on March 2nd, the day the tornados plowed through Henryville. It certainly makes one wonder what’s in store for April, May and June…
Tom Postmes, author, professor, and researcher of online behavior for 20 years, says, “Trolls aspire to violence, to the level of trouble they can cause…” He continues, “They want to promote antipathetic emotions of disgust and outrage, which morbidly gives them a sense of pleasure.”
