Message Board Madness

I actively belong to three message boards. Some days, I can spend two hours reading and responding to new posts. I don't know if this is a good thing or not, but it is one of my sources of interaction with other beings.

Sometimes I am amazed at the drivel posted by people, and I point this out, which sometimes puts me on the "unpopular" list. So be it. Sometimes I know in advance that what I'm about to say is going to be unpopular, sometimes not. But honestly...

Yesterday I responded to a post where a member, who posts about her weight loss a few times a week (and that doesn't include her replies to same said posts which I don't read). She posed the question of "what to do when a friend has said she feels guilty for eating the way she does with her when *the poster* is so conscious of her weight and food choices". Everyone else that responded to the post was all "you are not responsible for her reactions/feelings!" and "You go girl!" I thought those responses to be mostly true...but I thought perhaps there was something left out, so I decided to jump in with my own two cents.

She never said how much she stressed, in her interactions with this friend, of her own conversational input that was directly pointing out how much she was exercising or saying, "oh, I love french fries but they are soooo fattening!" when her friend ordered the burger and fries, or "did you know that one single egg has X in it?!?" when the friend ordered an omelet. Or, "I'll have to do an extra 20 minutes on the treadmill just to eat this!" with eyes big as saucers, examing her salad with dressing on the side. So I pointed that out...that perhaps her exuberance over her own life changes/choices might be contributing to her friend feeling badly about breaking bread with her to the point that she actually said something about it, and in the nicest way she thought of at the time.

I killed that post.

I mean, its like the newly non-smoker who says to other smokers, "its like kissing an ashtray!" Or, "that is so bad for your health!" It is like any other dieter, who I've hung out with, who has to tell you exactly what they are eating that is so much better for them than what you are eating. Or new mothers who have to explain their potty training ideals to a group that doesn't have babies/want babies. It is the exuberance which I honor, but gawd, can ya just shut up about it? I'd rather talk about movies I haven't seen yet...and those are my true feelings, which I masked while carefully typing out my response in her post. I respond to her in that way as a stranger, and I'm betting that a friend would try to be just as careful if not moreso.

xoxo
lili