DON'T LAUGH AT ME!

Hey, clueless people, didn't your mommy teach you that it isn't nice to laugh at other people's pain?

I recently posted on my personal Facebook page how upset and I angry I was (and still am) about the way the nomination of a judge to sit on the US Supreme Court was handled. I was upset about the way the president and others mocked and laughed at his accuser. I was upset about the president severely limiting the scope of the FBI's investigation into serious allegations against the nominee.

One person, a man I don't know well and don't particularly like, responded with the 'ha-ha' emoji. He was laughing at my post. After figuring out which of my 'friends' had laughed at my discomfort, I quickly unfriended him.

How dare he, a man, laugh at my emotional distress. It would have been wrong for anyone of either gender to laugh, but it is particularly egregious for a man -- an old white male -- to respond in this hurtful way.

I don't care whether he is on the other side of the political aisle. I don't care whether he thought my feelings were an overreaction or inappropriate or ridiculous. He could have simply ignored the post. But he chose to laugh at my obvious, and public, emotional distress.

Sadly, his response is far too common these days. Rather than saying nothing, he chose to laugh. What kind of person laughs at someone else's emotional pain? What is funny about reading about someone's hurt? For all he knows, I might be a victim of sexual assault. Would he laugh if his wife or daughter or granddaughter was the victim of sexual assault?

I never should have accepted this guy's friend request. He wasn't nice to me during a trip we both took, so I shouldn't be surprised by his reaction to my post.

I am not a radical feminist, but I am fed up with the women of this country (and around the world) being treated as second-class citizens. Take us seriously, you ignorant fools. Treat us the way you want  your wives, your partners, your mothers, your girlfriends and your daughters to be treated. Treat us the way you want to be treated. Don't laugh at us, whether you agree with our sentiments and actions or not. 

My dream is that I will live long enough to see these domineering, self-entitled elected officials swept from office. My dream is that their self-important supporters will follow them into oblivion. They need to be relegated to the dustbin of history.

Treat everyone -- young or old, male or female, of every race and religion -- with respect. Otherwise, keep your nasty words and actions to yourselves.