Emotional Blackmail…
by Bernie Bell - 09:57 on 26 December 2024
Emotional Blackmail…
I’ve previously written about the Creeps who post on FB….
http://www.spanglefish.com/berniesblog/blog.asp?blogid=16820
Another kind of post that I could do without are the ones which imply that if a person doesn’t share the post – usually about having ’lost’ someone or mental health issues - they are some kind of heartless monster.
I was pleased to see that Matthew Manning, who I consider to be an all-round good-egg, posted on his page thus…..
“I find it astonishing that these posts get such vast reactions with ‘likes’ and ‘comments’. They are nothing more than the dreadful threatening chain letters that decades ago used to circulate in the mail. I block the Facebook pages from which they originate but to little avail as so many other people are also distributing this garbage.
Rant over! Is anyone else receiving this unsolicited dross?”
My response was….
“There are some people that I’m very fond of who regularly have these things turn up on their FB pages. I don’t want to appear to be having a go at them personally, but I do point out that I am not a heartless, unfeeling git if I don't 'share' these emotional blackmail postings. This kind of evidence of the banality and shallowness of today's world doesn't help anyone in any way, and, in fact can make un-settled people feel more un-settled.
A common example is when the post says…. ‘My true friends will share this.’ WHAT!!!
Thanks for mentioning this, Matthew – folk will take notice of what you say.”
Matthew is right – those FB posts are much the same as the old ‘chain letters’. Back then, the person receiving them needed to have the courage to tear them up and throw them away. I ask the recipients of these FB posts to delete them. Whoever is setting them up is as much an un-caring predator as the ones trying to ‘befriend’ potentially vulnerable people.
I’d say they got worse over Christmas – surprise surprise!
I’ve said my piece, but will no doubt erupt about this again sometime.
Please folks – think about what those posts are actually saying/implying. Yes, encourage awareness of vulnerability – but these posts aren’t really about that.
On a lighter note – me & Mike refer to the Bad Mental Elf. Some folk have issues with it – but that’s nothing to be ashamed of, as it can be very hard to deal with at times. I tell it to get back in its box.
***************************************************************************
Add your comment
