We sat in IHOP when she repeated the biggest lie you hear from political talk radio. She spoke without passion, between bites of strawberry pancakes covered in an assortment of syrup flavors.
I looked across the table at my friend. It was close to midnight, and I had made the trek to the suburbs just to cheer her up. We met in class two years before, both making fun of the other students. She was sarcastic and full of quirks. She loved James Dean and wore purple lipstick.
“What did you say?” I asked. She repeated herself.
“You really think that?” I was shocked. I could feel rage boiling up inside of me. A state of passion I tried to reserve for unsuspecting telemarketers and people who betray my trust.
I went off. While my blueberry pancakes cooled on my plate, I spoke my mind. How could she think that? She was talking about people I knew. People I cared about. She was wrong. She was close-minded. She was ignorant. She was using no logic to back up her claim.
She let me finish, but had a horrified look on her face. Finally, she spoke, “Everyone’s staring at us.”
I looked around. The dozen or so people in the diner looked away as I scanned the room.
“I wasn’t being that loud,” I said.
“You were. You were causing a scene,” she said. She hated the attention more than she cared about what I said to her. We ate the rest of our midnight breakfast in silence. As we got up to leave, I apologized for losing my temper. I never saw her again. I’ve never gone back to that IHOP.
There are people who spend their time on Twitter and Facebook being angry. I know how they feel. Filled with adrenaline, they try to force someone into recognizing their superiority through words on a screen. It feels good to defeat an opponent on the web, and it’s a skill I own. If I get angry enough, I will burn a whole town down to make my point.
Even recently I have felt that rage in a battle with someone on Twitter. I felt a need to make a point, and then defend my position when attacked. The battles erupted with people I know, respect and care about.
I don’t like being that angry person. It makes me tense and closed off to the world. I feel bad for my opponent. I become engulfed in negative thoughts from the altercations. I know there are more important things in life than being right on social media.
When I see a social media battle raging, I try to step back and take a deep breath. I stop the fight, back off and listen to my opponent.
I’m trying to tweet like I’m sitting in a crowded IHOP with a good friend who I would like to see again.