Scared to accidently think out loud

I've been working a lot on designing items for the website the last few weeks, in the midst of enduring 4 migraines, a fall, an Alpha Gal sneak attack, another birthday (grateful I had it!), and my dad's having heart surgery. I also had another bout of COVID thrown in there too for good measure. Oh and let's not forget the hot flashes lolol. Damn I'm a mess when I look at all that LOL. Just another day in the life. ANYWAY, I worked hard on good days and got through the others. It was the first bad Alpha Gal attack I'd had in over 3 months. Soon as I think I've adjusted and am on the right track I get caught by something unexpected or unknown. It sucks. So I've had a couple "down" days (which sounds better than I'm depressed and just want to go back to bed) but now it's time to get over it and proceed to kicking life's butt.

So I've been thinking a lot about people's perceptions of my designs and the products I'm making. Not only do you want to offer things that you hope people will like- and BUY!!- but you also have to think, "Is this going to piss anyone off and get me canceled before i even get started?" I have a mouth and tend to speak before I think sometimes, I know this. But in this day and age.. better not. So here's what brought this on.

I ran an ad on Facebook and Insta

for some of my products, and had a random stranger post a kind of pissy remark under the ad.

Now think about that, cause I really have. Some strange woman, from another state, who i know nothing about and who doesn't know me from Adam, came upon my ad and after looking at this adorable freaking purse I made and was offering for sale, she took the time to type something shitty underneath it for the world to see.

Why? I man, eally. Why??

So this has been on my mind a lot the last couple of weeks. And for those of you who know me, I took a lot of breaths and reframed my response several times but in the end I did manage to be completely professional and just ignore the hate and smile with my answer. But.. jusr why?

Facts. We're living in a world right now where we need to be thoughtful about what we say, what we post, and what we do, because everyone is watching. And a lot of people out there think that the whole world wants to hear what they think, and they can't wait to tell it. And if you're not careful, you could be their next target They'll misconstrue, fabricate, and embellish any innocent word or incident that they might can get some traction out of and they will ruin lives and could care less about the fall out. I've seen it time and time again.

I guess I grew up more in a time of "Don't speak unless spoken to". "No one wants your opinion unless they ask for it," and "I'll mind my business and you mind yours." All of which are time honored and successful mantras to live by. But these days everywhere we turn we see staged videos of blind sided confrontations, undeserved harassments, and people railing on about their perceived (and often make believe) injustices. Doing anything they can- for a reaction, for their 15 minutes.

And in this day of social media overload, viral videos and busybody Karens, you better think about these things. And protect yourselves.

So as bad as I want to say bad words and say screw the mean girls of the world (and boys, I'm not discriminating!), what I guess I'm saying is be careful. Because I want everyone to have a voice and be heard. But some people don't want to hear you. And that's their choice, just like you have yours. Live your own lives, mow your own grass, and quit worrying about what the neighbors are doing. There are a bunch of haters out there. Some people have to be miserable and demand company while doing so. Those aren't my people.

Encourage others. Be the positive in peoples lives, not try to tear down perfect strangers. Just love each other, jeez. Its not rocket science. Carrying all that hate and jealousy around has got to be bad for your back .