Some of you may have read the article in the La Crosse Tribune this morning. Maybe you didn't think it was newsworthy. Maybe you got a kick out of it. Maybe you live in your grandmother's basement and should get off the computer and apply for a job. I could not believe the negative comments left on the article. I should have expected as much living in the world we live in today. Here's the story in a nutshell.
Every day, when I sit down to have lunch, I go on the tribune's website to see what's making local news each day. Since signing off of Facebook on Fat Tuesday, I've been working hard on the preemie/newborn hats for the NICU (or really any baby in the hospital) and hope to have 40 made by Easter. ANYWAYS, when I checked the Trib's website I saw an add asking for people giving up Facebook for lent to contact a reporter who's email address was in the article. So I emailed her. Had I known that there were so many small minded and heartless people in this area I never would have done such a thing, and I could really kick myself now for agreeing to do it. As soon as the article was posted, people were saying things about me actually being ungracious, arrogant, and addicted to Facebook. They insinuated that if I had just lived a "clean" life all year I wouldn't have to worry about giving up anything for Lent. REALLY? So all of these people are perfect and have no vices they could give up for 40 days? And on top of all of that, I'm doing something for the community to make it a little NICER. Something these people might want to consider doing instead of running around trying to steal the joy from other people. I was hoping that doing something for the greater good would inspire other people to do the same and then maybe the community and eventually other areas would benefit from paying it forward and doing good deeds for less fortunate people, but the human race has proven that it just isn't possible to do that.
I really hoped that perhaps what I'm doing would inspire others to try and do something nice for other people. The people commenting acted like I was seeking an "atta girl" for what I had been doing, but what the story didn't say was that I've been doing things like this with no recognition for years. I don't expect recognition for it. I do it because I'm blessed with an ability to knit and create things and giving something I have put love and effort into to a baby who was born too early, or a child going into foster care, or a cold elementary school student makes me happy. It gives me a good feeling to know I've helped someone. So someone wanted to write a story about it and people run around saying it's not "newsworthy". Well it wasn't scrolling across the screen as breaking news for Pete's sake. It was just one of those little stories that's meant to warm the hearts of people and remind them that there are good things happening in the community, and it's not all robberies, rape, kidnapping, and assaults. People do have kindness in their hearts to share with others but I learned an important lesson in being humble. If you are ever going to do something nice don't tell anyone about it no matter what because someone is waiting to dissect and berate you. I feel very sad knowing that this is the world we are living in. In spite of these people I'll continue to knit and be kind to people and just pray that it spreads to other people somehow.
No comments:
Post a Comment