One of my friends, run the blog QCP (Queen City Princess) I like her blog because it’s different. It’s full of advice about life and love. I came across one of her writings today and thought it would be the perfect post to share with everything going on in the world and in my own life. She’s very blunt, relatable and great at giving advice.
I am going to start doing an “ASK MC MONDAY” feature. You can leave any questions for MC at the bottom of this post for her to answer and they will be published on Mondays.
Why are we so quick to point out the negatives?
Looking through social media today has been so depressing. Everything is negative, negative tweets, negative posts, even negative quotes on Instagram.
What the hell happened to this world? Negativity is all you ever see anymore.
I’m guilty of it too. I guess pointing out negatives makes us feel better about our lives? Except it’s not making me feel better.
Everything on social media is ISIS, Ebola, the dad from 7th Heaven, nasty politics…
I’m annoyed. I need a glass of wine.
It’s really sad actually how much of our time is spent attacking and judging others. On Dancing With the Stars Sadie mentioned all the hate her grandfather received, on last night’s episode of Survivor everyone attacked John Rocker, my previous post was about Amanda Bynes, all the talk shows and news stories have been negative lately too.
There’s a black cloud hanging all over everyone lately and it has nothing to do with the flu season. It’s negativity, and it needs to stop.
Mean Girls put it perfectly: “Calling somebody else fat won’t make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn’t make you any smarter… All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you.”
So why do we do it? Why do we immediately jump all over something bad? Why do we judge people for their past actions, or even current actions? That’s not our place to judge, to point fingers. When it comes to celebrities and athletes, yes they’re in the public eye, but they do so many positive things that get over looked. Sadie said, “If you’re holding the football, you’re gonna get tackled.” When a celebrity/athlete does something positive it’s news for a week, when they do something negative it’s news forever. WHY!? Why should we attack someone just because the ball is in their court?? Why can’t we just focus more on ourselves?
Mean girls also said: “Calling each other sluts and whores makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores”. Pointing out others negatives and mistakes makes it okay for them to do the same to you. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t want people to constantly scrutinize my life or my past, so why do we do it to others? All those people who were attacking John on Survivor better look in the mirror. Are you proud of everything you did/said in your past? Probably not. Putting him on blast just makes it perfectly acceptable for others to do the same to you. How would that make you feel? I’m sure it would make you feel pretty shitty. What happened to if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all? What about the Golden Rule? Treat others how you would like to be treated?
Mean girls also said: “Calling each other sluts and whores makes it okay for guys to call you sluts and whores”. Pointing out others negatives and mistakes makes it okay for them to do the same to you. I don’t know about anyone else, but I don’t want people to constantly scrutinize my life or my past, so why do we do it to others? All those people who were attacking John on Survivor better look in the mirror. Are you proud of everything you did/said in your past? Probably not. Putting him on blast just makes it perfectly acceptable for others to do the same to you. How would that make you feel? I’m sure it would make you feel pretty shitty. What happened to if you can’t say anything nice don’t say anything at all? What about the Golden Rule? Treat others how you would like to be treated?
If you want a good news story, you actually have to actively search for it. That’s ridiculous.
Maybe it’s just the people I associate with or the things I choose to watch. All I know is this negativity needs to stop. It’s annoying, stupid, pointless, and it just breeds hate. Everyone is so hostile these days and I really feel like a lot of it has to do with the media. Constantly seeing negative things puts a bad taste in your mouth and causes you to zone in on anything and everything negative while the positives gets over looked.
Why are we so quick to point out the negatives?
I’m not sure, but it needs to stop. We need to focus on ourselves, our own lives, our own problems and let other people (especially people we don’t know) do the same.
Want more from QCP? Check out here blog here.
Linda @ TheFitty says
As a society we’ve become really critical of everyone else. I’m not one to spread rumors or trashtalk anyone because I don’t see a point in them. I’m with you on that, Tara.
Jill @ Champagne for Everyday says
Great article! I think one of the most powerful side effects of a positive attitude is that it really sets an intention within you. No matter what the odds, if you’re positive about something the greater the chance you will try to achieve it!
Jill
Latest Post: Flat Belly Myths Debunked + Life Changing FODMAP Diet
Lauren says
I’m with you on the negativity but on the other hand, people are attacking the grandfather from duck dynasty because he said horrible things about gay people.
Laura says
I can’t agree more with this post!! And I’m a huge “Mean Girls,” fan so props for the reference 🙂
Katie says
This post is all over the place. I definitely understand that part about laying off the bullying, but to say that you’re ANNOYED at hearing about ISIS, ebola, etc. is highly inappropriate. Not everyone gets to live in this girls happy-go-lucky world where she can choose to not think about the horrifying effects of ebola or the incredibly violent actions of ISIS. The world needs to know about these things and when you choose to just overlook them and focus on happy thoughts you are contributing to the problem. I, for one, need to know about what’s going on in the world. Even if you can’t do anything immediately to change it, being aware is the first step against solving the problem.
Lauren says
I agree with you on that. While bullying needs to stop, there are things people need to hear about like people dying from Ebola or the militia attacks on innocent people in Africa.
“All that evil needs to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” And knowledge versus ingnorance is the first step.
MC says
I don’t live in a happy-go-lucky world. My original post and meaning got messed up when it was copied. My point was there’s plenty of good in the world but the media only chooses to focus on the bad. Everyone needs to know what’s happening in the world good and bad!
Susie says
I think it’s heartbreaking the way that people (especially women) attack each other these days. We trash everything about each other, from appearance to parenting. The internet and social media has made the problem even worse because it’s so easy to hide behind a computer or phone screen with their nasty words that they never have to be held accountable for.
In my opinion, a truly beautiful and confident woman is someone who would rather bring up the people around her than tear them down. Beauty radiates off those kinds of people, and it would be wonderful to see more of them in our world!
heather says
I’m sure we can all agree that the media needs to stop wasting our time with coverage or world affairs like IRIS and the Ebola crisis and get down to the inspiring, uplifting tales of reality TV.
heather says
Please blame my grammatical errors on my lack of coffee. That’s also sarcasm.
Natalie says
For sure. Negativity, sickness, and terrorism is the worst.
Especially on a show like survivor. Everyone should be working together and uplifting each other.
Bethany says
Taralynn, do you seriously like this blog?
Ebola, ISIS, and politics are all very serious things. Hate the break it to you sweetheart, but you can’t avoid the truth by hiding behind puppies and rainbows. It’s just not how the world works. The media covers both the good and the bad, but focuses mostly on the bad because people in the western world need to be informed. If you’re so sick and tired of hearing about Ebola and ISIS, then go back to watching your horrible reality TV shows.
Taralynn McNitt says
She didn’t say that hearing about serious things was unnecessary. She said she wanted there to be a mixture of both good and bad news.
Bethany says
Umm she specifically said that she is irritated with ISIS and Ebola:
Everything on social media is ISIS, Ebola, the dad from 7th Heaven, nasty politics…I’m annoyed. I need a glass of wine.”
If that’s the case, then she probably should have rephrased it. Grouping ISIS and Ebola with the dad in 7th Heaven is just not a line you should cross. It’s not about the public being “too sensitive”, it’s about having common sense as a blogger.
MC says
All of those things were in the order they came up on my facebook timeline. Im sorry you took it the wrong way. My intent with this post was that people tend to focus on the negatives and there needs to be a balance between good and bad.
Carolyn says
Life is pain princess, better get used to it (-Princess Bride). It’s not all pain of course, but get a grip: do not put Ebola, ISIS in the same category as Dad from 7th heaven. The news is not there to annoy you…
Sierra @ laspicesisters says
That’s right… The news here is not to annoy you.. Only to inform you about what is happening throughout the world and yet it hides behind these stories of Ebola and The newest Bruce Jenner makeover. It is ridiculous. I agree that the news needs to focus on positive aspects of current events, but they also cannot be picky about what they choose to tell us and biased towards what the American people should know. Honestly they are just hiding the real news behind these “negative stories” that you are talking about. I agree… It is time for a change.
Natalie says
Can you clarify? Are you saying that the real news is hiding behind stories about Ebola? What is the real news you are referring to?
Casey says
You’re right, Sierra. The news needs more stories about puppies and kitties. 😛
I really hope that you can sense my sarcasm. I worry about Americans when I see comments like this.
Jay says
I agree with MC. My take on “Everything on social media is ISIS, Ebola, the dad from 7th Heaven, nasty politics…I’m annoyed. I need a glass of wine.” is this: The media and social media always highlight controversial, bad or scary news cuz it grabs ppls attentions, sometimes creating and/or exaggerating fear & hate. This, to me, creates a lot of negatively cuz it’s constant doom & gloom and brings some ppl down. Of course, we all should keep abreast of the news to stay informed. But maybe in smaller doses if it’s bringing us down. I’m dropping all the news medias I follow on FB b/c of all the negativity there in the comments. It’s too toxic sometimes for me. So I decided to let it go. I don’t want or need that kind of toxicity in my life, ever.
su says
I’m speechless. Like actually speechless.