Is it so hard to be nice?

One of the things that I love about crochet on-line communities, is that people are, for the most part, really nice. They help each other, they compliment each other, they are giving. It's refreshing.

I'm really starting to think that the world is becoming a meaner place. Some of it may be the evolution of on-line communication; it seems that people say whatever they want without consideration for others. People state opinions as facts. They call others stupid or ignorant. They just aren't able to edit themselves as they would in a face to face conversation.

Politics - whew! We've always had a bi-partisan system, but I can't remember another time when the nastiness between the two parties (and some of the smaller parties) was so obvious and cutting.

This is MY blog. I can say whatever I want, but I find myself censuring myself in hopes of not offending anyone who might stumble across something I write. Then I go to some message boards and feel like I'm walking through a minefield with explosions possible everywhere.

Truth be told, we all have opinions, and we're entitled to them. We need to be able to say them nicely, and we need to not be super-sensitive to what others say or write on the web. I've made comments in this blog about not liking Fridgies and Toilet tissue covers. I think they are silly. That doesn't mean that I don't respect the work that other people do and recognize the talent that they put into their crafts. Not everyone is going to like everything.

There is a blog site called What Not to Crochet. This blog bashes what the blog owner thinks are dawg-ugly patterns. I know that some crafters feel it is mean-spirited and horrible. I think its a riot. The writer is funny! Now, if I designed something that was bashed on the site, I might not be so amused, but I hope that I would be mature enough to realize that the comments are just somebody's opinions and that the comments say nothing about me or my skills. I read that site and laugh until I cry. Sometimes I think the design is ugly - more often I think the color choice is unfortunate or the modeling is absurd.

So what am I rambling about? I just think it would be great if people made an effort to be considerate. And on the opposite side of the coin, I think we would all be better off if we weren't super-sensitive and didn't take a strangers opinion personally. If we like who we are and what we do, what should somebody else's opinion matter?

Some of my friends will laugh if they read this, because I tend to be super-sensitive, but I'm working on it. Even the great Wormie has turned out some butt-ugly projects.