Facebook Relationships, Real or Memorex?

     There used to be this saying when I was younger, actually it was a commercial for Memorex video tapes. The commercial showed someone talking and then it would show someone talking on TV, the same person, saying the same things. Then they would mention how you could not tell if it was real or Memorex. It meant that the Memorex copy was so clear that it was hard to distinguish it from the real person talking. So, when I think of something that seems to be real but might not be I like to use that saying, "is it real or Memorex?" simply asking if it is true or false...get it? 


     Facebook makes me wonder much of the time whether they are real or Memorex. I often see these posts of a perfect life on sociail media and I wonder if the people really have these rose garden type of lives. Their kids are always perfect, the husband or wife is always perfect and well, life is perfect. Then you see the person in real life and things are not quite as they seem. Of course we never know what goes on behind closed doors but still you wonder if anything can be that peachy keen.  I believe in every world a little rain must fall. I just find it hard to believe things are so perfect all the time. 

    Then there are the doom and gloom posts. The ones where nothing in life is ever good. It is so dismal and dreary. Funny thing is that many times the doom and gloom comes from the same people the very next day so, again is it real or not? 

    I really don't think most people are truly themselves on social media. It is a place where folks can vent, rant and be who they want to be with the perfect life we all wish we had.  I would like to think that those perfect posts are for real but I always wonder if it is real or Memorex?

     Disclaimer: This blog was not intended to hurt anyone, it was not written with anyone in mind. It was written partly for fun and partly because these are things I do wonder about from time to time.

Guns are Not the Only Weapons Used in Mass Murder Attempts

       Yesterday a woman for unknown reasons ran her car into several pedestrians in Las Vegas, Nevada. This tragedy really bothers me. It also goes to show if people want to kill, they will find a way. The woman who did this intentionally tried to kill at least 40 people with her car. I will not name her because she does not deserve any kind of public attention and I will not give her that glory.

     When I first heard about the tragedy of course, my heart went out those injured. So far, one person is dead which is heartbreaking. Over 30 others were injured and three in critical condition. I am was, and am, sad for their families. I also feel for them because they will never be able to walk down the street again without the fear of harm. I mean, who would have thought of being plowed down on the sidewalk. I sure would not have.  It will haunt them all for the rest of their lives I am sure. That breaks my heart. The woman who was killed, 32-year-old Jessica Valenzuela, will never walk down a street again. Her family will never see her again. That is sad, it is tragic, and it is horrific.

     My next thought after hearing about this tragedy was “well I guess they need to ban cars now”. I mean whenever there is a mass tragedy involving a gun the politicians and media are all calling out for gun bans and gun control. It is all you hear about for days. There has not really been much said about this tragedy, many people have not even heard about it. Granted I am glad for that because I believe the media making criminals famous is a huge part of the problem facing our society today. However, I wonder where the advocates are now.  I mean this is a mass murder attempt, the woman tried to kill many people with her car. She used her car as a weapon for mass destruction. Where are all of the advocates for that? How do you advocate this particular tragedy really? How do we heal the sick society we live in where people want to kill just for the sake of killing?

     Of course, realistically we cannot ban cars, that is silly. A car cant’ kill unless people get behind the wheel and drive it into others. On the other hand, guns cannot kill unless people shoot them. This tragedy shows how tools other than guns can be used to commit mass injuries and possible murder. No amount of gun control or gun bans could have prevented this mass tragedy. The woman might have tried to get a gun and couldn’t so, she used her car to cause others harm instead. If that is not the case in this incident, it might be in another. Guns are not the only weapon that can kill, guns are not the only weapon people can use to commit mass murder, so as a society maybe we need to stop blaming the tools used to commit these heinous crimes and blame the person or people responsible