noise

I am not a facebook fanatic. I have under 200 friends (gasp!) and I haven't actually posted anything myself in the past three months. I do not update my status and I don't know how to download pictures from my camera onto my computer so I don't post those either.
But I do occasionally get on facebook and just read up on what other people are doing. It is a nice way to keep tabs on my friends who don't live in the area. But as I was perusing this morning, I came to the uncomfortable conclusion that I might have to unfriend someone. I have never unfriended anyone before. And it wouldn't be because I now dislike this person. Instead, I find that this particular person (let's say "Pat") tends to have an opinion about everything. Everything! And Pat has no problem sharing that opinion. I'm fine with opinions and speaking your mind, but Pat is really forceful with opinions and shares them in a way that, if you happen to disagree, makes you feel that you must be 1) a moron 2) a satan worshiper or 3) a religious nutjob. 
Pat posts opinions on many current issues, like the supreme court's ruling to uphold the healthcare bill or the sanctions leveled against Penn State by the NCAA. I have been in opposition to the view that Pat took on both topics but have no desire to comment about it. This is because Pat does not write about it in a way that promotes conversation or leaves space for differing opinions. There is little room for doubt that Pat would quickly smack down any differing opinion with a lengthy philosophical ramble that left the person feeling two inches tall by the end of it.
And I have been discovering that I get a little angry when I read Pat's posts. I feel bullied and that my feelings and opinions are wrong and don't matter simply because I disagree. But guess what? I can have a moderate viewpoint on an issue. That doesn't make me a capitalistic drone who doesn't care about people. And I can have a more liberal view on something else and not be a communist. 
So I've decided to unfriend Pat or, at the very least, to just stop reading any of Pat's posts. Because when I read those posts, I don't hear logical arguments or an invitation into a conversation. It simply sounds like someone bashing two cymbals together and making a bunch of noise. And goodness knows, I have enough of that in my life already.

photo by: finallyiamnoone  http://www.flickr.com/photos/finallyiamnoone/2810576001/