The Internet is for Hate and Daisies

I took a week off from work recently and got a taste of life as a stay at home mom. This was rather pleasant and I’m looking forward to being free of the politics of academia. I was however nearly totally confined to the house as it snowed . . . a lot. With the drizzle in the air and a baby learning to crawl I opted for hanging out with my Boo and fiddling with my new Macbook while the flower buds huddled together for warmth*. We have wireless so I tried it out, totting my little ‘puter around the house as I kept track of the Boo’s needs. Great idea right? Sort of…

The Internet, while a terrific place to find images for art projects and buy cheep books, is a wasteland of negativity and spite. Comments on news articles, blogs, even Amazon reviews have turned into hate fests. Just skimming over some of it made me feel abused. Have humans always been this mean? Men maybe, if the caveman image of beating a woman over he head is to be believed… and the crusades … and the dropping of The Bomb. *waves hand and moves on*

I was a little bewildered at the places I came across disrespectful banter. Even sites that I have found nice or tolerable in the past were in rare form last week. Has this digital medium somehow erased all the advice of Miss Manners or Dear Abby? Does the facelessness of Facebook give malicious carte blanche to the hoards?

I think it has. One more thing to guard my little girl against. I for one will be spending less time in the digital void and more time in the garden…how about some Daisies…Daisies are the friendliest of flowers don’t you think? Yes, Daisies and Marigolds. And Lemonade to whomever stops by.

*poor little tulips