In any place the size of a town people will run into a few individuals who
decide to make others into their hobbies and obsessively collect all sorts
of trivia about them, or who jump at any mistyping or finger slippage (I
sure do enough mistypes and at my age everything is slipping!), or who want
to start fights, etc.  Fortunately, the FML seem to be BETTER than most
small towns.  (Speaking as someone who had a lot of small town experience
for many years...) Still, at times things happen here which lack the kind
of courtesy we hope to be able to receive on the FML.  I am speaking
specifically of those VERY FEW -- exceedingly few -- individuals who seem
to make kicking people who are down a personal form of entertainment.  We
all have read that Bob is trying to cope with cardiac problems right now,
that they are trying medications first for one part of his medical problem
with hope that this will work, that he is exhausted much of the time (a
very easy way to mistype), and that he needs some peace and quiet for the
sake of his health.  Hey, that is a position in which any of us might find
ourselves at some point.  Kicking Bob while he's down, like some earlier
situations in which rumors were passed, in which people who were mourning
were harassed, or people dealing with ill relatives badgered is just plain
uncalled for (and thankfully engaged in by only a few).  Ditto people
trying to create fights between those who might disagree on some points.
There is NOTHING reasonable about any such activity at all, but in recent
weeks there has been an individual trying such things.  It can be bad
enough to try to hurt others when they are doing well in life (as folks
here know), but kicking someone who is down is something we all learned in
or before kindergarten is an activity to be avoided at all cost.  I am
hoping that the rare individuals who do behave as yesterday's solitary
letter writer did get the counseling and medical help they need to have
normal levels of control over their actions.  After all, actions DO speak
more loudly than words, and, Letter Writer, your actions said it all.
Risking the health of a fellow FML member just to be able to aggravate
another is NOT the sort of activities which benefits ANYONE here, but it
does hurt us all and hurts the FML.  Can any of you think of any good
reason for such activity, for encouraging such activity, or for later
applying such actions to any of us?  No?  Then perhaps we can show by our
actions just HOW people should behave.
[Posted in FML issue 3051]