The Idiots Among Us

There are lots of things a person can worry about these days if he chooses to do so.  Whether it’s the terrible economy and the financial pressure it‘s causing, or personal conflicts at home or in the workplace, the challenges of raising happy and well-adjusted kids, or perhaps uncertainties about one’s health, the list goes on and on.  It never seems to end.

Worrying is a debilitating activity, at best, so that’s why I consciously simplify my life in order to avoid as many mental distractions as possible.  Every now and then, however, something pops up that makes even ME start to worry.   And the latest of these reared its ugly head as I read comments left for a video posted on “You Tube,” one in which the sinking scene in the movie, “Titanic” was edited to play backwards.

The project was done by an aspiring film student.  Like any movie that’s played in reverse, it was an dramatic exercise in visual absurdity.  The huge ship rising from the water in pieces, along with its passengers and crew seeming to “rise” back up onto its decks, was a truly surreal experience.  But that’s not what got me worrying.  I mean, in seventy long years I’ve done lots of things backwards, so I’m more than used to it by now.  What sent chills up my spine was the number of “whacked” comments left by viewers of the video.  Not only were they stupid and indicative of minimal mental function, they were written using language and spelling not worthy of my First Grade students.

Now, I neither consider myself a mental giant, nor academic snob.  I’m just an old codger that appreciates clear thinking, the ability to communicate, and a non-embarrassing level of literacy when dealing with others.  In my opinion, then, these written comments displayed NONE of the aforementioned traits, and that’s why I’m worried.  For looking beyond the confines of my cloistered world, I find the horizon littered with hoards of human numbskulls!

Here are some of the comments left for the video, “Titanic Sinking In Reverse.”  I present them to you, unedited:

-  “i knew you could fall upwards”
-  “thes peple must love bouncing”
-  “its good but it’s not real life”
-  “It would be a miracle if this happened to the titanic thumbs up to agree”
-  “Did that just really happen? O_o”
-  “maybe the electricity ran out? and the man put it on and it come out of water”
-  “the titanic sank in real life these are actors”
-  “a oficer shoott his self”
-  “… what happened?”

-  “I think Yodas doing this”
-  “yeah, reverse titanic makes sense, but reverse twilight we get nothing!”
-  “i was most excited to see the guy that hits the propeller when he falls rise back up and hit it again…”
-  “My grama’s uncle was one it”
-  “i want this to happen”
-  “this is somewhat hilariouse”
-  “that stupid iceburg had to be in the way”

Are you freaking kidding me????  Are there that many slow-witted illiterates watching videos these days?  As an educator, if any of these respondents were former students of mine, I’d promptly go out in the backyard and hang myself from the peak of my workshop roof.  And maybe… just for ironic impact, I’d get someone to video the whole thing, then edit it to run backwards so I can “come back to life.” Then I can read the comments left about me, and start worrying all over again.