Arguing online. It’s like *offensive reference*, only with less reward

So, I got into a nasty argument online.

Yeah, yeah, I know. But, I let this one get out of hand. The subject is irrelevant, but it was one that incites passion in some people. I did not provide all of the sources I could, for fear of overwhelming the person I was arguing with, but when one of their friends jumped in with some pretty horrible insults,  I felt like I lost a little of my self control. Now, I didn’t insult back (much), but when someone resorts to those kinds of tactics, the immediate, gut-level response is to respond in kind. I try not to do that.

Anyway, the result was that the person I was debating dropped me from her friend’s list on Facebook. Such is life, you might say. She isn’t the closest friend, just someone I know from high school, which was quite a time ago (More than a decade, less than two). But she is a person, and I upset her enough that she doesn’t want me as part of her life anymore. That gave me pause to think. There have been a few people that upset me enough that I have evicted them from my life, and a few that I have pissed off enough to have them want me out of theirs, but it sometimes makes me think about the person from time to time. For example, when I was a member of my former religious group, emotions ran hot and cold. There is a person I still think about from time to time that was so pissed off at me that she does not want to talk to me ever again. I won’t rehash the whole story, but I will say that I think of her from time to time and hope she is well. There was another that I ejected whose welfare never concerns me. I think of her quite a bit less.

I suppose what I am trying to get at with this ramble is that no wave in a pond ever truly vanishes. There are always ripples from every event, no matter how small. This was my last argument on this subject, although I am passionate about it, because I realize that most other people are just as passionate, and unlikely to change their opinion. In the end, I lost a friend, but gained insight.

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