Writer's Note: As you can see by the post dates, I took most of 2018 off. I focused more on my fiction writing and less on commenting about the current state of our world. However, I felt it was necessary to finally get some of these thoughts/comments/opinions out there for all to see. Here's one from late last year.
Additional Writer's Note: Another entry courtesy of my alter ego - Mr. Snarky.
Mr. Snarky is just that: snarky. Snide, cruel, cutting, extremely critical. All words that describe Mr. Snarky and - at times - me. Unforgiving is another apt description. I just don't get how some people navigate through life without falling off a cliff.
Anyway, the following rant is from Mr. Snarky. Enjoy.
- - -
November 1, 2018 - The heartbreaking news popped up in Facebook's News Feed like any number of friend's posts that you see everyday. The post itself was from an unknown person who asked everyone to pray for a Navy Seal Team killed in Afghanistan. The team's helicopter was shot down yesterday and everyone on board died.
I looked at the post and immediately felt sadness. Then I looked at it again. Today was November 1st and I had just watched the CBS Morning News. There was plenty of tragic news that day but no mention of a downed helicopter and the loss of an entire Seal Team. I checked the Internet. Nope, no mention of any tragedies coming out of Afghanistan. I thought that strange.
At the same time, the downing of a helicopter and the deaths of an entire Seal Team sounded vaguely familiar. I started searching and, soon enough, found several entries for a tragedy involving 30 members of a Navy Seal Team. The tragedy did happen - but it was in August of 2011.
Not yesterday!
According to Snopes (link to the article), this prayer request started showing up in social media in the latter part of 2017 and continues to make the rounds to this day. Here's a synopsis of the "real story:"
Although this request is “true” in the sense that the tragic event it describes did occur, its continued inclusion of the word “yesterday” is nonetheless misleading — it references a U.S. Chinook helicopter that was shot down in eastern Afghanistan back in August of 2011, some three months after Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces during an early morning raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The Snopes entry goes on to restate the facts (known at that time) regarding the tragedy. Snopes even lists the dead Americans on board the Chinook copter.
What really angers me are the idiots who post, re-post, and share this stuff without any discernment or caution. (The FB "friend," a former high school classmate, is a classic example of the morons who litter the Internet nowadays. This person will re-post anything that shows up in FB's News Feed.)
While some of you may wonder, What's the big deal? Think, for a moment, if you were the parent of a soldier serving in Afghanistan. You log in to Facebook and see a shared post asking for prayers for fallen American service personnel. You're heart literally skips a beat thinking about your son or daughter. Then you look into the details and realize that it's not a recent event. Worse yet, it's actually a hoax. A hoax!
I realize many people fill their timelines with recipes, how to's, puppy videos, and the like - they need to truly take a moment to think before they share these "recent tragedies" that everyone needs to pray about.
Use the brain that the Good Lord gave you. THINK!
I'm done.
Additional Writer's Note: Another entry courtesy of my alter ego - Mr. Snarky.
Mr. Snarky is just that: snarky. Snide, cruel, cutting, extremely critical. All words that describe Mr. Snarky and - at times - me. Unforgiving is another apt description. I just don't get how some people navigate through life without falling off a cliff.
Anyway, the following rant is from Mr. Snarky. Enjoy.
- - -
November 1, 2018 - The heartbreaking news popped up in Facebook's News Feed like any number of friend's posts that you see everyday. The post itself was from an unknown person who asked everyone to pray for a Navy Seal Team killed in Afghanistan. The team's helicopter was shot down yesterday and everyone on board died.
I looked at the post and immediately felt sadness. Then I looked at it again. Today was November 1st and I had just watched the CBS Morning News. There was plenty of tragic news that day but no mention of a downed helicopter and the loss of an entire Seal Team. I checked the Internet. Nope, no mention of any tragedies coming out of Afghanistan. I thought that strange.
At the same time, the downing of a helicopter and the deaths of an entire Seal Team sounded vaguely familiar. I started searching and, soon enough, found several entries for a tragedy involving 30 members of a Navy Seal Team. The tragedy did happen - but it was in August of 2011.
Not yesterday!
According to Snopes (link to the article), this prayer request started showing up in social media in the latter part of 2017 and continues to make the rounds to this day. Here's a synopsis of the "real story:"
Although this request is “true” in the sense that the tragic event it describes did occur, its continued inclusion of the word “yesterday” is nonetheless misleading — it references a U.S. Chinook helicopter that was shot down in eastern Afghanistan back in August of 2011, some three months after Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by US Special Forces during an early morning raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
 |
| Once again, think! |
The Snopes entry goes on to restate the facts (known at that time) regarding the tragedy. Snopes even lists the dead Americans on board the Chinook copter.
What really angers me are the idiots who post, re-post, and share this stuff without any discernment or caution. (The FB "friend," a former high school classmate, is a classic example of the morons who litter the Internet nowadays. This person will re-post anything that shows up in FB's News Feed.)
While some of you may wonder, What's the big deal? Think, for a moment, if you were the parent of a soldier serving in Afghanistan. You log in to Facebook and see a shared post asking for prayers for fallen American service personnel. You're heart literally skips a beat thinking about your son or daughter. Then you look into the details and realize that it's not a recent event. Worse yet, it's actually a hoax. A hoax!
I realize many people fill their timelines with recipes, how to's, puppy videos, and the like - they need to truly take a moment to think before they share these "recent tragedies" that everyone needs to pray about.
Use the brain that the Good Lord gave you. THINK!
I'm done.
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