FILED UNDER: When you’re Symbolically Ignorant and Humor Challenged

(Sometimes situations are put before me as gifts from God. This discourse gem is based upon an actual interaction between two Brothers…)

Brother (An actual administrator in a Masonic Facebook Group posts this within the group):  A member of this page sent me this meme and I blocked him. Gentlemen if you’re using language like “whore” I personally don’t believe you’re deserving to be a Mason. How about strive to be part of the solution, not be part of the problem....

Coach: And we’ll not mention any irony or hypocrisy related to the fact that you're posting this objectionable meme here for others to see the very thing that you find distasteful and do not want to see yourself. Who's the problem here?

Brother: Right, though as the admin of this page, I’m just calling the crap out.

Coach: Yes, a public condemnation of a privately shared piece coupled with your use of another offensive expletive within your justification is equally ironic and hypocritical. You have an interesting moral code Bro.

Brother: I see absolutely nothing hypocritical in my post, maybe you enjoyed the meme and don’t see anything wrong with it. Calling something crap that is crap has nothing to do with morals.

Coach: My enjoyment or judgement of the meme is not the issue here Bro. It is clear that you don’t see what I am pointing out to you. Let me spell it out... You admittedly blocked a Brother for using what you judge to be an offensive word within something he found humorous, yet you use an offensive expletive to label his efforts to share from his heart.  Furthermore, you reposted it and used these expletives in your repost, thus subjecting others to them as well, even though you find it objectionable. Yes, there are morals in question here.

Brother: Calling a meme crap and calling female a whore are not even in the same ballpark, but you need to hear your right then so be it.

Coach: Your comparison is a red herring argument Bro. Both words are offensive expletives. And being right is also a red herring argument. You believe you're justified in judging and condemning, but are passionately indignant at 1) a fictitious bear who judged and condemned a female and 2) what is being pointed out as hypocrisy. Yes. Your morals are clear for all to see. You’re revealing your soul.

Brother: Remind me your choice of words when your daughter is called a whore.

Coach: Your response is a straw man argument Bro. If my daughter was caught breaking and entering, violating the sanctity of a family's safe place, their furniture, their food reserves and taking up residence where she didn't belong, being called a "whore" would be the least of her problems. It's not about me wanting to be right Bro. It's about your inability to see who you are choosing to be in this matter and what you are about.

Brother: But it’s not straw man at all.

Coach: Actually, it is.

Brother: I’m defending females!

Coach: You're now putting yet another straw man argument to defend your previous straw man argument. You're not defending females; you're defending yourself and your behavior!

Brother: I called it crap.

Coach: Yes. And the irony of your responses displayed the hypocrisy of your value system. It's obvious.

Brother: You took the path of connecting my choice of words to define that meme to be at the same level as the meme.

Coach: You're the one who put a pejorative definition upon the meme's word; not me. There's a huge difference between define your choice of words and merely pointed obvious things out.

Brother:  Now you’re questioning my morals, you know nothing about me.

Coach: Actually, I’m not questioning them; I’m seeing them and pointing them out as well and for you to see. And from all that you posted herein, I know more than enough.

Brother: To your response, when did anyone’s safe place get broken into?

Coach: Are you seriously telling me that you do you not know to whom[i] the bear was referring and to what she did to that bear's family and home?  Seriously?!

Brother: It sounds like somebody is reading way too far into something,

Coach: Much like you did to that meme, and unfortunately not far enough to grasp the subtle but obvious references to a well-known Folk Tale.

Brother: I’m defending females!

Coach: You're defending ignorance, your position, your poor behavior, your attitude and your lack of awareness; not females. You simply don't see it.

Brother: Brothers should know better than to send distasteful memes.

Coach: Actually, Brothers should be told when they are exhibiting ironic and hypocritical behavior reflecting symbolically ignorance and a lack of humor. Your reposting of the very thing you condemn others for posting is acting out the same behavior that you condemn. I wish you did know better. You would not be posting these things and defending your behavior with righteous indignation.

Brother:  Let’s call the meme distasteful.

Coach: And let’s call your reposting something that you found distasteful, thus subjecting others to the very thing that you found equally distasteful and disgusting, ironic and hypocritical.  

{Coach was summarily blocked and the thread removed/hidden at this point}

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[i] Goldilocks – Notorious for breaking and entering, destroying furniture, depleting food reserves and bedding down without permission of the homeowners.