Is it smart to 'ghost' people?

"Of course I didn't ghost the guy on Tinder! I'm not a mean woman! I was just not really interested so decided not to respond to his messages for a couple of months."

It's amazing how people defend their anti-social behaviour. It's never their fault but the blame always lies with someone else. Or it's because they have been 'busy'. Yeah, with stating on social media how busy they are, watching Netflix, sending clickbait articles from Bored Panda to their friends and posting three pictures or reels on Instagram so they can call themselves 'Social Media Content Manager.' Or - even worse - 'influencer'.

'If you weren't interested in the guy, why did you sent him a picture of you in a see through top with three X's in the message that read 'Can't wait to CU IRL soon.' 'I was drunk and bored and thought he looked kind of cute.'

'So you weren't busy, as you first claimed, but when you sobered up simply backed down?' 'Yes. Also I didn't want to hurt the guy's feelings by telling him I was just horny at the time but really not actually interested.'

'So you decided to ghost him instead? How thoughtful!'

'I didn't ghost him! Why are you so mean to me? I just decided not to respond to his messages.'

'What's your definition of 'ghosting'?'

'Not replying to someone's messages on purpose. But that's something I would never do because that's cruel and unnecessary. I just deliberately not responded to his messages.'

'You do know that 'deliberately' is simply another word for 'on purpose?'

'Stop harassing me! I'll tell my boyfriend you sexually assaulted me!'

'Good. Let's call him and show him your Tinder messages to unknown guys you find hot.'

Of course not all people are like this and it's not only straight women who show this kind of behaviour. But a lot of people are really, really selfish. And stupid. Unless they love not having real friends. In that case their behaviour is smart.

Do you know selfish people? Do you consider them friends?

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A Ball (#poetry)

The Light, the Incredible Light,

with slivers of silver

and sparkly bits,

No need to fight,

and then it hits

Could this be it,

the answer to all?

or was it just me,

being hit by a ball?

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Would you like to be financially independent?

Okay. So you invested in cryptocurrency, got lucky and are a millionaire now. You only work four hours a week, spend most of your days on some nice beach and as an 'incluencer' advice others via social media to become just like you: financially independent. Hooray.

But what if everybody indeed became just like you? Ever considered what the world would look like if everyone did everything just to become rich? If 'I want more money!' was the sole reason for living?

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Now imagine a world in which everyone is financially independent. Nobody works anymore because they have enough money to spend the rest of their days in luxury.

And now you become ill or suffer an accident. Alas, you can't find a doctor because they all followed your investment advice and quit their jobs. As did the people from your favourite webshops and food delivery services and farmers. You will starve. But hey, at least you are financially independent so you are happy, right?

You may want to reconsider what really makes you happy. Is it wealth? Health? Having actual friends instead of fans? 'Yeah, but all those self-made millionaires seem happy!' In their Instagram feed maybe, but in reality they are just as miserable as you and I. Just with more cash.

And 'self-made'? Hate to bring it to you, but 'from rags to riches' is a myth. Carefully spread by 'the one percent' but a myth nonetheless.

If Bezos, Musk and all those others who claim to be such great and hardworking businessmen, why do they so heavily rely on tax cuts and government subsidies? Interestingly enough they will always state they are against subsidies 'because that's socialist!' or 'If your company is viable, you don't need government handouts.'

Do you think anyone can be become a millionaire? Even if they are born a hundred years ago or in Yemen? Can you become a millionaire by simply working hard or is luck (like having rich parents) a big factor?

A White Boy on Terra (a #poem)

Take your pride and hide it.

Laugh at misfortune, don't fight it.

You know you were lucky and didn't work hard.

Your job pays per week, not per yard.

Because papa's rich, so are you .

Your friends are just lucky and you are too.

So don't tell me others are lazy

or simply crazy.

It just means you can't think

and the ideas you have stink.

What did you actually do

to be where you are?

What if your cradle stood in a place that's far?

Did you bribe someone to be born in the right era?

Or was it sheer luck you were born

as a white boy on Terra?

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Survival of the fittest

Was Tyrian Lannister the physically strongest character in Game of Thrones? The fastest? The most agile? Was he perhaps the mentally strongest or the most intelligent?

No. But he did survive.

Why? Because he was the fittest.

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In the famous phrase 'Survival of the fittest', attributed to philosopher Herbert Spencer upon reading On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin,

he never meant 'the most fit' but rather 'the one that best fits'. The circumstances, conditions, surroundings and sudden changes. 

The dinosaur may have ruled the planet for a while but was gone in almost an instant when disaster - well, an asteroid - struck, leading to cataclysmic changes is weather conditions. A bit like fossil fueled (...) climate change is doing in our days.

The only 'dinosaurs' that survived were not the ones with the jaws that could bite in two a Tesla or end Elon Musk and all his ex-lovers and their children simply by urinating on his house, causing it to flood and collapse. 

Nope. It were the birds, frogs and - the ones most resembling the giant dinosaurs in picture books - alligators.

Whether it's a plant, a virus, a human or some other animal, the one best capable of adjusting wins in the end. If I could wager on which living being has the best chances of surviving the next mass extinction event, I would not bet on humankind. 

I would rather put my bitcoins, NFT's, Rubels or CBDC on the scorpion and cockroach. Both equipped to withstand drought as well as a nuclear winter. "Okay, but scorpions surely would die in a flood, right?" You may want to rethink that assessment.

"Yeah, but...but cockroaches surely won't survive a next Great Flood, right?", he asked with a tiny voice.

Sorry:

Only one single creature survived all five known mass extinction events: the tardigrade.

What do you think will the next mass extinction event look like and do you think humans will survive?

The Stage of Life (a #poem)

Without her he felt naked.

Exposed as the simple human being

he usually was.

But not when she smiled

while she kept him warm.

Those were the moments

he lived in a dream.

As if he was asleep

on the stage of life.

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Amusing

Most of my writings here are quite serious; my 'columns' as well as my poetry and short stories. And perhaps I should write a bit more about the things that amuse me in life. It could be that you have a different sense of humour and maybe even don't like mine. And that's fine, of course. But here are a few examples:

"Waiter, I don't have to work tomorrow so I'll have what the lady had, please.",

was the caption with which I shared this video on social media.

A random picture on one of my (almost) daily walks can turn into a small joke:

Apparently this is not just a simple #Sunflower plant but a spell from the #HarryPotter franchise: helianthus tuberosus. One #flower seems happy, one sad and one somewhere in between those emotions.

Another example is yet again a picture of a flower:

Now with the text: 

"...we're doomed, we're not..we're doomed, we're not...we're doo...uh-oh!" #daisy

I love to create memes (click. Here are a few hundred of  'em) 

If possible, I try to make people who see my memes smile and think at the same time.

(Photo credit: Kiss between a Jew and a Palestinian 

by italian photographer Matteo Menicocci (2019))

Often I just want to make people smile.

Like when I came up with a text to go with a picture of the Google Maps car I found online:

I also love to amuse myself with my children, friends, anything Star Trek and The Walking Dead and have several favourite YouTube channels. But also amuse myself watching (preferably participating in if I can!) debates, darts, ice speed skating, reading, a nice chess game, going out to a bar, seeing a concert, play music myself and - my favourite hobby ever of all time - to write.

What do you amuse yourself with? If it's 'work', that's okay. Nothing to be ashamed of. Okay, maybe a little. 😉

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I love you, dad (a #poem)

Making waves,

a stranger smile

and the echo of the words

"I love you, dad."

Counting graves

and put on trial

and the echo of the words

"I love you, dad."

Built on slaves

the humans' style

and the echo of the words

"I love you, dad."


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If you can read and share this without repercussions, you don't live in a dictatorship

Do you think you live in a dictatorship? If you truly are, how come you haven't been arrested yet or 'disappeared' after protesting your government on social media or in real life? Did you 'suddenly end up in Intensive Care' after you were put in a 'punishment cel' for eleven years without a trial because you stated the current leader of your country might be corrupt? That's exactly what happened to Maria Kolesnikova (click) in Belarus. 

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Kolesnikova was kidnapped and other candidates to oppose president Alexandr Lukashenko, a 'friend' of one Vladimir Putin, fled to Lithuania and Poland. Voluntarily of course. Because they and their family weren't threatened at all. Putin and his friends would never do such a thing, right?

Would you like to live in a country like Russia under Putin? Why (not)?