When I went on Facebook I noticed that someone had commented after a comment of mine on someone's post. The post was something from Newsweek about the five biggest myths in healthcare reform. I had said something to the order of finally, a bit of sanity in all the insanity (because the article proceeded to dismantle some of the more outrageous claims of the far right regarding health care reform) and then I made a sharp-tongued remark about the photo of the screaming white man that went with the article. I think I said something like and aren't screaming angry white men sort of retro? Anyway, if I've lost you or you're not well-versed in Facebook, someone commented right after me, still about this article, but more about MY remark. And this person (whom I do not know) just typed SYFP for his comment.
SYFP
Now, even though I'm well-versed in Facebook and have actually gotten into a couple of other snafus, I admit to not knowing what those letters stood for, so I went on google and learned that SYFP meant: SHUT YOUR FAT PIEHOLE.
I had that old queasy feeling in my stomach -- the one that bears witness to my conflicts. To being a very opinionated, intelligent woman who isn't afraid to speak her mind but who is also, down deep, a tad bit insecure and eager to please, to be considered gentle and good and certainly not a woman with a FP.
When I recovered, I commented right below those letters that I thought they were quite apropros of my earlier comment about angry, screaming white men.
And then I took my quivering self right out of cyberland and went to a class on How to Cut Your Kid's Hair. I wanted to cancel the class -- what was I thinking, anyway? But I had already paid for it, so I took a shower and dragged myself over there. It was actually fun, and Oliver got a pretty good cut, if I do say so myself.
What a horrible misogynist that person was! And he, did, indeed, prove your point about angry white man. So there.
ReplyDeletei'm so glad you were able to recover; that sort of attack usually has me shaken for days. congrats.
ReplyDeleteperhaps we should all focus on having GIGANTIC opinionated pieholes.
i think it's such a shame when people have the audacity to believe that someone should keep their opinions to themselves, even the unpopular ones. how should we learn?
i have a dear friend who is a single mother, a warrior. she's headed down to mexico and to black mountain numerous times to stand with mothers fighting to live peacefully in their ancestral lands. she has also cultivated a remarkably respectful, though careful relationship with some white supremists who live across the river from her home.
sounds crazy, but she understands that sometimes good people become very lost, there is plenty to be angry about, and that people tend to seek a scapegoat; fearless, honest conversation sometimes breaks down the toughest of barriers.
i LOVE that you held your ground, and that oliver got a great haircut to boot.
cheers and blessings, mama.
Yay! Yay! Just plain yay!
ReplyDeleteI haven't commented here before, though I've really enjoyed your writing. I am going to have to find something drinkable around here to toast women who can speak their minds, fat pieholes (the better to swallow the pie whole), and good kid haircuts.
ReplyDeleteCheers.
SYFP? GFY. [Go Feed Yourself...)
ReplyDeleteIWYWSTAAOFTFPBSBIASSOFHEFFYANYESYOFPH
ReplyDeleteUm. Wow. I would have had a really hard time letting that one go. I'm very impressed that you were able to do something positive with your day and move on after that.
ReplyDeleteI think it's very uncomfortable for some of us who were raised in the manner of "if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything" to speak our minds without worrying about who we're going to piss off. But guess what? The older I get, the easier it becomes.
ReplyDeleteWe don't have fat pieholes.
We have thoughts that are just as valid (or dare I say MORE valid) than anyone else's and we have a means to share those thoughts and we do.
Ignore the ignorant.
I cut my kids hair a lot. It's not too hard, huh? Feel better. Garlic and green tea for colds!
ReplyDeleteWhat a smart idea -- the haircut class. Here's to many enjoyable cuttings.
ReplyDeleteAs for the rude commenter, they crawl out of the woodwork where politics are concerned. So never take it personally. I suspect the author of FP comment is one of those angry white men.
Did I tell you we have witches up here? You see them around town and know them by their witchy (wicca-y) bumper stickers that are usually purple with curly-cue fonts. Anyway, this disgusting confrontation reminded me of one I saw on Saturday on the back a witch's Scion parked in the lot of our food co-op: "Well behaved women rarely make history."
ReplyDeleteIt made me smile. But when I hear of violence like this story of yours (because it is violent even if it's in cyberspace), I am reminded that it's is deadly serious. Women like you would have been burned at the stake in other times. Or institutionalized or simply worked to death. Keep holding your ground and speaking up for what you know is right. You are part of a long tradition of moving "mankind" in the right direction.
Har har har har...
ReplyDeleteOh my god that was the best laugh I've had in ages. I had no clue what that meant.
You are hillarious.
Love Renee xoxo
i hate facebook
ReplyDeleteand i hate those "complete sentences" contained in simple initials we are all supposed to understand.
lazy, mean people .... probably functionally illiterate too
p.s. I cut my kids hair too - it saves a bundle of money and a load of time :)
ReplyDeleteclever reply you made back, though, eh? :)
ReplyDeletei'm having huge problems understanding this healthcare reform hysteria. one morning, looking over my husbands shoulder reading the news, i saw pics of obama with a hitler moustache, pics of him with the word 'socialism' written across, and read that he was called a communist. i sat down and read the whole article, and had one of those incidents where my heart went gallopping and i really, really, REALLY wanted to sit down and talk to a scholar who's specialized in north american culture, to have her explain to me the whole idea. because in spite of all my attempts, i don't get it. at all.