Friends

Friend is such a loose term nowadays.  The meaning has both evolved and devolved simultaneously.  We can virtually meet someone who has things in common with us that we may have otherwise never met.  But should we call them a friend?  We can dismiss someone for having a "negative" comment (I'm still struggling to define this one).  Were they really ever a friend?  Gone are the days when you can give someone a label without having to add words like real or true as a description.  If you're a friend, then you need no other introduction.

We have means of determining friends, some common connection or belief or event or issue or...something.  Maybe we decide based on whether they would change a flat at 2am or put us up for a night in a pinch.  Or we used to...prior to calling any and every one a friend.  It doesn't take much to notice that Johnny's belief system is a bit different from yours -- if you can see beyond the "lol" and likes on each of your posts.  We can see that Jane is a bit quirky after the "go girl" comments have stopped.  Are we so busy looking for connections that we don't actually connect?

We've come to a point in our society where our involvement in Social Media (because I refuse to blame an inanimate object for the shortcomings of humans) has changed the meaning of the term friend.  Would you really be friends with that particular person offline?  Why are your friends categorized by race or based on which candidate they support?  Is there more to this person or more to your friendship?  Or are you merely Social Media friends?  Just because I like your Instagram posts doesn't make us friends.  Or is it just me?

Posting about unfriending people because of differences of opinion, shows your childish nature.  True growth is for those who are capable of entertaining ideas that are different from their own.  Doesn't mean you have to adopt it or even constantly debate about it.  A healthy relationship means that there is no persuasion necessary.  We are, and should be different.  It has always bothered me when folks attempt to isolate themselves with statements like "you don't understand because (insert special case)."  It takes away the opportunity for someone to empathize with your situation and give you the support you crave.  I wonder if that separates us from the animals?  I digress.

In our inability to communicate, we fail to say things like "I can't believe that your value system is so different from mine that you believe it's ok to hurt children and I'm uncomfortable knowing you."  Instead we say, "if you don't agree with me, I'll unfriend you."  Define internet bully for me please.
All too often I've seen posts that mention differences in politics, race, religion, and celebrity worship end with a threat to unfriend.

So, I'll say this to my friends:  I am thankful for you.  For our different backgrounds, races, religions, sexual orientations, marital status, political affiliations, economic brackets, vices, fetishes and interests.  I celebrate our differences in music, food, drink, vacation destinations, child-bearing/rearing habits, and much much more.  Trust me, I'm not unfriending you.