When I was a kid, my family ate SPAM. (We also ate Potted Meat and Vienna Sausages, but let’s save that for another day, shall we?) I know that in Hawaii, folks eat the heck out of some SPAM.

 

I don’t eat SPAM anymore, and I don’t judge those who do. It’s just not my thing. To each his own, you know? And because I don’t eat it, it simply doesn’t pop up in my little world.

 

Only it does. Do you know how much SPAM email I receive each and every day? I’m guessing it’s somewhere around the 300-count marker. And that’s not including what goes straight into my SPAM folder. I’m merely counting the stuff that busts through and ends up in my in-box.

 

While I’m not fooled by it, I do sift through the crap in order to sort out real communications. In scanning those subject lines, I’ve noticed a sorry trend: a lot of the SPAM I receive carries subjects having to do with slamming or tearing down celebrities.

 

When did all this ugliness become a pastime? Have we always gravitated toward negativity about others, or is this a new preoccupation? What the heck is wrong with us anyway?

 

I guess I noticed this because I’m planning a get-together for my Rock Camp Volunteer buddies, and the very thought of those folks sends me floating in a bubble of positivity. It’s an amazing group, really. We are comprised of mostly women, and we are incredibly supportive of one another. I joke about all our high-fiving, but it’s for reals, y’all. We don’t snark and we don’t act catty. We believe in each other. We cheer each other on. It’s beautiful.

 

Earlier this week I witnessed something unfortunate in a parking lot. I walked by a mother and daughter (probably around 11 or 12 years old) and heard the mom saying something critical about what another nearby lady was wearing. The mom went straight from that insult to another, all the while teaching her daughter – by example – how to follow in her footsteps and denigrate other women. The daughter appeared to be learning well, as she was laughing at her mother’s words and joining in the barbs. It occurred to me that while it may be too late for the mother, perhaps that daughter will find herself at Rock Camp. Maybe she can learn the power of building up her friends. Maybe she will someday walk across a parking lot and marvel at how awesome this or that chick looks. Maybe she’ll find herself smiling, just because. Anything’s possible.

 

As for the assholes of the world who send out all that SPAM, well, they aren’t going to change and I don’t spend time thinking about them. But I do feel sorry for folks who are tempted to click on that crap, looking for dirt or ugly photographs of well-known people. Life’s too precious for that waste of energy. Too beautiful.

 

I’m thinking the only way to acceptably consume SPAM is from a plate. Definitely not from a screen.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.