Disclaimer

I've had to think, rethink, sleep on, start writing, delete, sleep on again, think and rethink this post so I sure hope it comes out the way I want. 

I've been mulling around the issue for about 2 weeks now and have had some very interesting conversations with people about it.  Everyone has their opinion, their individual situation and history.  I've gone back and forth with the question - should I even be writing this blog?  I post it on FB and I've got...wait, let me check...where the hell do I find how many friends I have??  Well, I've got a few, nothing outlandish like some people, but a comfortable chunk.  How many of them are even reading this?! 

I usually spend a couple hours writing each post, despite my lightning fast typing abilities ;)  I think, I type, I stop and look out the window at people walking by my house, I check out the line across the street at Mitchell's Ice Cream (it's overcast, windy & cold out right now at 12:28 p.m. on a Friday and there's a couple sitting on the bench outside licking their ice cream cones and probably wondering which one of them had the bright idea of freezing their asses off like that!), I reread what I've written, delete some things, type some more...  I have stories to tell, funny (I think) anecdotes I want to share, frustrations I want to air, etc, hoping to elicit emotion & provide food for thought for my readers.  However, I never intended for those emotions or thoughts to be hurt or offense.  Not to say I can't handle criticism (lie - but I'm working on that!) but what I mean is I never meant to hurt or offend anyone, and I have.  I have apologized to these people but it strikes me that perhaps there are others who, for whatever reason, did not call me out and so for those of you I apologize too.  If you know me well you know I have a rather crass sense of humor, a warped sense of reality & a vivid way of describing things.  Some of this comes out in my writing.  Sometimes I say things that make no sense or it's an inside joke or I mean it one way, and think my readers know what that way is, but they don't.  How can they?  Just like how can I know about everyone's situations, histories, sensitivities, etc?  I would NEVER intentionally hurt or offend someone, that's not me.  I'm also not a racist, I hate everyone equally ;)  (that was a joke)

So all this has gotten me thinking about humor, criticism, opinions, judgements, etc.  When is it ok to make fun of someone?  Never?  Comedians do it all the time - and I suppose they offend and make enemies along with gathering a following of devotees.  I love Howard Stern but I know a lot of people don't and even though he makes me laugh he still causes my eyebrows to raise a lot as I mutter "wow, that's harsh!"  I mean, he really speaks his mind, but that's his job.  I'm not a shock-jock and nor do I want to be.  Anything I've ever written that has offended anyone was purely accidental.  I suppose I'm a bit naive and ignorant about the P.C. thing, not all of it but some.  I want to raise my children to be intelligent, non-judgemental, polite people so maybe I need to look into a book on being P.C. - is there such a thing?  I'm only half serious there.  To be honest, I think everyone has the right to their own opinion, they have the right to judge and think what they may of anyone so long as they keep it to themselves.  It might not be fair or right or any of that, but who is to say how we can feel?  I don't agree with a lot of cultures' ways of treating women but that's their culture.  Do I wish I could change it?  Sure.  Is that even possible?  Not really.  Is that a shitty attitude?  Maybe.

Apparently it's ok to make fun of a certain group of people including lawyers & politicians - but why?  They are people with feelings too.  Don't they get upset when they are the brunt of a joke?  Don't we care?  Then there are drug addicts, homeless, murderers, etc., those people are all free reign right?  But maybe not, we don't know what got them where they are.  That old saying about not judging (or making fun of?) someone until you've walked a mile in their shoes is pretty solid advice.  Then again sometimes I just want to say, Hey the world is a wreck, can't you take a joke?  Why...So...Serious?

I've been advised by different people to either alter my writing or not change a thing.  Well, I am who I am and if I can't write like me then I don't want to write at all.  However, I recognize I need to think outside my little bubble sometimes and realize what I've said may be taken offense to, and therefore shouldn't say it.  Other times I know not what I say.  So here comes the disclaimer:

My blog is about me, my life, my experiences.  Please do not take anything personally, I do not judge you, I am not even thinking about you and I don't mean that in a bad, selfish way.  When I write I'm in my little world and I talk about the world according to me.  If I offend thee, please forgive me.  And please feel free to tell me if I do!  I want you to enjoy reading my blog, but if you don't then please stop reading it.  No offense taken.