Minor Rant: The Casual Internet or, Please Don't Represent (Me)

Twice this week I received requests from friends on the F@cecrack to "join their cause." Both friends are people I know in the fleshworld, both are people I consider kind, intelligent, thoughtful people. Just to be clear -- this is not about them. 

Ultimately, this is about pet peeves I suppose. 

The "cause" which my friends offered up for support seemed focused & purposeful enough, "Make Witch Craft no longer an "Other" Religion," but exactly how did the organizers intend to accomplish this lofty task? I had to know. I went to the cause's homepage to read more. What I found was simply pathetic:

"ABOUT MAKE WITCH CRAFT NO LONGER AN "OTHER" RELIGION!!!
We are not a sub-group. We are normal human beings with just as many rights as everyone else. We dont deserve to be outcasts becuz we believe in sumtin that is different than what society says is normal...wat is normal...wat is to say we are not normal...
1. I want this to be just as accepted as christianity.
2. I want people to know that they are not alone and we stand with them in life and beliefs.
3. We are ready to take our stand against being shunned becuz we are different."

Oh, the agony. 

I then find that three other friends have signed up anonymously as supporters of this cause. This brings the total to five, five intelligent, sensitive, thinking friends signed on in support of that "proclamation." I must believe they could not have actually read the statement of purpose. I also must, for my own sanity, believe that the other four thousand+ supporters of this cause also did not read the statement of purpose. 

If I don't hold to my imaginations, I will surrender to the tragedy that the internet is transforming us all into mice, indiscriminately following barely post-pubescent, grammatically challenged, self-proclaimed pipers... Self-proclaimed pipers who use sexist & homophobic language on their profiles, employ silly pseudonyms (yes I have moments of hypocrisy) & will ultimately take zero concrete action toward accomplishing the goals of said cause. Shall we rally just for the sake of rallying?

Instead of ranting further & transforming this minor rant into a major one, I am going go froth to myself about the state of education, our 40-second attention span culture & the imprudence of the internet. But I have a message to all the would-be pipers out there: Please don't try to represent (me). It's embarrassing... for you & for me.