After the Tragedy

Source: http://www.theminimalists.com/tragedy/

By Joshua Fields Millburn · Follow: Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Instagram

Yesterday, the morning after the horrific terrorist attacks in Paris, I posted the following quote on my personal Instagram account:

In light of the Paris tragedy, I’m reminded of Anthony Jeselnik’s uncomfortable but honest commentary on Internet “sadness.” To paraphrase Jeselnik: “When something horrible happens, everybody runs to social media and writes the exact same thing: ‘My thoughts and prayers are with the victims.’ Do you know what that’s worth? Fucking nothing. Less than nothing. You aren’t giving any of your time, your money, or even your compassion. All you’re saying is, ‘Don’t forget about me today.’” Ergo, let’s do more than post a stock photo of a peace sign on social media. Let’s find ways to contribute beyond ourselves.

The positive comments on this post were numerous, but there was also a spattering of fake outrage, as well as some crude personal attacks and even one potential death threat (which I deleted).

Some people missed the point entirely: they seemed to take my post as a personal assault, as if I were judging them for their social media postings. But of course I wasn’t, because I k…

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