So, this is what compels me to break my self-imposed exile? Pure cowardice, anger and revulsion.
Anger + internet != great idea
For the uninitiated, “!=” is code-speak for not equal and while that statement is more often than not true, I hope you’ll bear with me through this. I was going through the daily blogroll and came across a post on Chris Mast’s site that is the source of my disgust – specifically the one referencing iDUMP4U.com. I refuse to dignify that site with a link, so if you want to check it out, you’ll have to do the requisite legwork yourselves. The long and short of it is that it’s a pay service to break up with your partner. Un-be-liev-a-ble. I am sickened on multiple levels.
Sure, couples break up for a myriad of reasons – although it seems in the examples I heard they mostly fall into the “be careful what you wish for” or “looks good on paper, not so much in reality” categories. That’s life, it’s understandable. What I don’t understand is why you would hire someone to break up for you. If you’re done with someone – especially if you were just in their presence mere moments before – have the guts to break up with them yourself. Step up and be a man or a woman and take responsibility for your actions. Hiring someone to do it for you is pure cowardice. I don’t care if you’re not good at confrontations, you at least owe your partner that much. They deserve to hear it from your mouth and see the seriousness on your face to know that it’s over and not be left wondering if it’s all just some elaborate prank. You owe it to yourself, in fact. I don’t mean that you should take pleasure in devastating someone; you simply deserve the knowledge that you acted like an adult in an adult situation and didn’t run away and hide from your problems like a child. You didn’t make a mess and just leave it for someone else to clean up. Have some self-respect and show some basic human decency!
That’s only the tip of the iceberg. Another aspect I find utterly appalling is the benefit by broadcasting someone else’s misery/tragedy. If someone wants to take the coward’s way out, fine, I don’t like it, but that’s their choice. Does it really need to be broadcast to the world? Does it need to be re-broadcast to the world? People post stupid or inane things all the time (yes, myself included), but is re-posting someone’s humiliation or misery really necessary? Isn’t there enough pain, suffering, and anguish in the world – hell, even in our own lives – already? Must we mock others for theirs? Is our self-esteem so fragile that the only way we can feel better about ourselves is through the denigration of others?
There’s a saying in the comedy world that states “tragedy + time = comedy”. I would posit that it’s become an axiom, but the late, great Johnny Carson proved that wrong during one of his monologues. He delivered a punchline involving Abraham Lincoln that caused the audience to wince and groan loudly and with perfect timing zinged the phrase, “Too soon?” In this case, if we remove time from the equation, we’re left with tragedy = comedy. Can that be true?
