1/9/13 - Reposting

1/9/13

One of the most frustrating trends that seemed to mushroom during the last election cycle, was the proliferation of hateful posts on facebook.  I'm talking about posts that are re-posted over and over, and have little, if any validity.  Of course, we live in a free society with freedom of expression, and I'm not coming out in favor of any kind of censorship.
But, would it hurt to at least look into the truth of what you're posting?
So many posts could be easily debunked with a little research, yet it seems like very few are willing to do this.  I've taken it upon myself to do the research and report my findings to those who have posted these things.  If they're a friend, they usually respond that they didn't realize that is was fake, untrue, exaggerated, racist etc.  And then the next day they post another one.
If I'm not friends with the poster, I'm usually met with outright hate.  I don't know what I'm talking about.  Snopes is known to be wrong.  Snopes is controlled by Soros.  The liberal media can't be trusted.  You get the picture.
Another trend is admitting it's untrue, but saying they agree with the sentiment.  Take the case of the former Marine who volunteered his services as an unpaid, unarmed guard to an elementary school in California.  He stood in front of the school in his fatigue uniform, and posed for pictures for the media, telling them that he was a former Sgt. who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan.  The school, for some unknown reason, did not vet his credentials (just think about the can of worms that this could have opened).  After the story ran locally and the facts began to become known, the school asked him not to come back.
But the story took off on the internet.  On facebook, a poster announced how the Marine Corps was going to prosecute him for wearing his uniform incorrectly, and that he faced jail time - all because he wanted to help protect the children.  People were asked to re-post the story to protest the injustice.
In reality, he never served overseas, had only attained the rank of Private First Class (E2), and was discharged after less than a year of service.
Once I pointed out the facts, including links to actual news stories, there were those who said it didn't matter.  The former Marine should still be honored for doing the right thing, not shamed for lying, stealing glory, or just wanting to be famous.
This scenario played out more than 5 times in a matter of days, with the same story, and I presented the truth in a respectful manner each time.  I know the folks meant well, but c'mon, you can at least read the comments where more than one person has pointed out the stories short comings.
Since then I've been doing this more often.  It's hard to stop myself from doing it.  I feel better when I've exposed a little truth or common sense.  The alternative is to cringe, or ultimately "un-friend" someone, an act which I've sadly had to do.