I really enjoy reading news online. The Seattle Times has a website that I check in on every day. I probably spend more time reading the comments section for each story then I spend reading the stories themselves. I usually find it pretty interesting to see what other people think and sometimes I find myself disturbed by what other people think.
I find it really interesting how many people drag politics into a discussion. If there was a story about a dog getting run over on the street, people would be making comments about DIM-ocrats or Libtards or CONservatives. I occasionally leave comments and have at times been called an idiot liberal and other times called an idiot conservative and sometimes just get called an idiot. It doesn't bother me much. Years and years of submarine duty have thickened my skin a bit.
I read a story in the Seattle Times yesterday entitled "Bellevue man outwits 2 criminals, escapes in their getaway van." The story is about a guy that was working in his garage crafting a part for his hobby car. He heard someone in his house and discovered his house was being burglarized. He grabbed a hammer so that he had something to defend himself and went outside. The crooks had left their van in his driveway with the engine running and the doors unlocked. This guy hopped in the van and drove it a few blocks away to the house of a friend. Crooks came outside, saw their van was gone, dropped all of the loot on the porch, and took away on foot.
When I read the story, I kind of laughed when I thought about the look that must have been on their faces when they came outside and found that their van had been stolen. I also thought that the guy might have been somewhat foolish, but since he didn't get hurt, it was just a great story.
Some people that commented on this story seemed to have the same idea, but a lot of other people made comments that I find kind of disturbing.
One of the most common responses was along the lines of "Those guys are lucky that they didn't break into MY house or I would have BLOWN THEM AWAY!!!!"
Don't get me wrong. If someone breaks into a house, they are taking their lives into their own hands. I am probably not going to feel too bad about someone getting killed while they are breaking into a house. What disturbed me about these comments are the bloodthirstiness with which they are made. It seems like there are a whole bunch of Clint Eastwood wanna-be's sitting in their living room with a gun in hand hoping that something happens that would justify them killing someone. What kind of a person fantasizes about killing someone? It just disturbs me that people like this live in the same neighborhoods as me.
The other common responses focused on something else in the article. The article mentioned that the guy was recently laid-off, his wife was at work, his kid was in daycare, and he initially thought that it was his housekeeper in his house until he realized it wasn't the right day for the housekeeper to be there.
There were tons of comments along the lines of:
"How dare this guy be working on a hobby instead of looking for work!!!"
"How dare this guy have a child in daycare when he is not working!!!"
"How dare this guy have a housekeeper when he is not working!!!"
"How dare this guy....blah, blah, blah"
Seriously, why are there so many people out there that hate this guy for being able to weather a period of unemployment in comfort? If the guy can afford daycare, can afford to work on a hobby, has a wife that works, then I say good for him. Sounds like he spent a lot time living within his means and was smart enough to put money away for a rainy day, or perhaps his wife earns enough money to support their lifestyle.
Well, I suppose I will continue to read comment sections in the newspaper. I thought it would be illuminating to see what other people think. I guess it is illuminating, just not in the way that I thought it would be. I thought that I would see some well thought-out discussion that might persuade me to think about something in a different light or that might reinforce the way that I already felt. Instead, I find that we have many more bloodthirsty maniacs and petty, jealous little people living in our midst than I thought there were. I still hold out hope that these people making the comment are a small minority, but boy, they sure are vocal.
I find it really interesting how many people drag politics into a discussion. If there was a story about a dog getting run over on the street, people would be making comments about DIM-ocrats or Libtards or CONservatives. I occasionally leave comments and have at times been called an idiot liberal and other times called an idiot conservative and sometimes just get called an idiot. It doesn't bother me much. Years and years of submarine duty have thickened my skin a bit.
I read a story in the Seattle Times yesterday entitled "Bellevue man outwits 2 criminals, escapes in their getaway van." The story is about a guy that was working in his garage crafting a part for his hobby car. He heard someone in his house and discovered his house was being burglarized. He grabbed a hammer so that he had something to defend himself and went outside. The crooks had left their van in his driveway with the engine running and the doors unlocked. This guy hopped in the van and drove it a few blocks away to the house of a friend. Crooks came outside, saw their van was gone, dropped all of the loot on the porch, and took away on foot.
When I read the story, I kind of laughed when I thought about the look that must have been on their faces when they came outside and found that their van had been stolen. I also thought that the guy might have been somewhat foolish, but since he didn't get hurt, it was just a great story.
Some people that commented on this story seemed to have the same idea, but a lot of other people made comments that I find kind of disturbing.
One of the most common responses was along the lines of "Those guys are lucky that they didn't break into MY house or I would have BLOWN THEM AWAY!!!!"
Don't get me wrong. If someone breaks into a house, they are taking their lives into their own hands. I am probably not going to feel too bad about someone getting killed while they are breaking into a house. What disturbed me about these comments are the bloodthirstiness with which they are made. It seems like there are a whole bunch of Clint Eastwood wanna-be's sitting in their living room with a gun in hand hoping that something happens that would justify them killing someone. What kind of a person fantasizes about killing someone? It just disturbs me that people like this live in the same neighborhoods as me.
The other common responses focused on something else in the article. The article mentioned that the guy was recently laid-off, his wife was at work, his kid was in daycare, and he initially thought that it was his housekeeper in his house until he realized it wasn't the right day for the housekeeper to be there.
There were tons of comments along the lines of:
"How dare this guy be working on a hobby instead of looking for work!!!"
"How dare this guy have a child in daycare when he is not working!!!"
"How dare this guy have a housekeeper when he is not working!!!"
"How dare this guy....blah, blah, blah"
Seriously, why are there so many people out there that hate this guy for being able to weather a period of unemployment in comfort? If the guy can afford daycare, can afford to work on a hobby, has a wife that works, then I say good for him. Sounds like he spent a lot time living within his means and was smart enough to put money away for a rainy day, or perhaps his wife earns enough money to support their lifestyle.
Well, I suppose I will continue to read comment sections in the newspaper. I thought it would be illuminating to see what other people think. I guess it is illuminating, just not in the way that I thought it would be. I thought that I would see some well thought-out discussion that might persuade me to think about something in a different light or that might reinforce the way that I already felt. Instead, I find that we have many more bloodthirsty maniacs and petty, jealous little people living in our midst than I thought there were. I still hold out hope that these people making the comment are a small minority, but boy, they sure are vocal.
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