Marijuana

One time I posted a note on Facebook, about how tobacco should be outlawed, and marijuana should be legalized. They still haven't been able to clinically prove that it's addictive, it has a variety of health benefits with relatively few drawbacks, and we all know it smells better. Smokers are always bitter and angry, but people who get high are always nice and cheerful.

I posted my op-ed piece on Facebook, and within a couple of hours, it got the EXACT same response as my joke about marijuana.

This is how it goes:

1 person thinks it's hilarious, and completely agrees with me.

The next person takes it too seriously, and tells me I'm a horrible person for even suggesting it, let alone trying to convert people to my evil ways.

The same person follows up with some statistic to tell me I'm wrong.

The 1st person comes back to defend me, and still thinks it's funny.

A third person joins in, makes an objective, fair, but neutral comment, trying to diffuse the awkwardness.

The second person apologizes for taking it too seriously.

No one dares reply, and the conversation dies.

So although I enjoyed the opportunity to share my writing with people in class more than I normally do, I did not enjoy the experience of publishing it elsewhere, nor did I benefit much from it (except now I know not to put my opinion on Facebook). I thought it would be a great place to publish because most of my friends are either at BYU, live in or near Provo, are attending another college, from South Africa, have lived in Brooklyn, or are in other ways able to relate to the background of the article. Unfortunately, the only people who take the effort to read and comment on my note are the people who have nothing better to do.