culture of ugliness

I am reaching my limit of tolerance when it comes to mocking people. I continually have pictures of the "The People of Wal-Mart" vein popping up on my FB feed, and it's getting on my last nerve.  Do I think it's tasteful to walk around in public with see-through leggings, or with butt cheeks or belly rolls hanging out?  Not particularly, no.  Do I want to expend the least little bit of energy taking stealth pictures of these people, posting them on Facebook, and then laughing at them?  Absolutely not.  My little bit of spare time is spent trying to work on myself.  There is exercise to be done, home improvement, learning new things, reading, time to spend with my family, traveling, professional development.  I can barely squeeze everything in that needs to be done, much less troll Wal-Mart for people wearing ill-fitting clothes. I feel like I am in a constant struggle to try to be the best person I can be, and there is always room for improvement.  Every moment I waste judging other people is a moment I am not using for self-improvement.

When did our culture become accepting of ugliness? And by this, I don't mean physical unattractiveness, but rather expressing hate and derision.  Perhaps it's always been there, but the rise of social media has forced me to have to bump into mean-spritedness on a daily basis.  God forbid you are a few pounds overweight, or, due to poverty and lack of education and nurturing, walk around in clothing most people find unacceptable, or carry extra weight due to being nutrition-starved.  And, we love our reality shows, where we can mock people whom we deem to be "white trash".

Listen, people.  We have real problems in this world that must be tackled.  Climate change, violence around the world, refugees, inequality. I am beginning to fear that we are generally dumbing down as a people. Idiocracy appears to be coming to fruition.

Yes, my panties are in a wad.  Yes, I am clutching my pearls.  I have to raise my daughter in this world, and I am trying to produce an empathetic, kind-hearted adult. Your hatred says more about you than it does about the objects of your contempt.  Anyone who invests time and energy making fun of other people is compensating for feelings of insecurity and inadequacy.  High achievers don't have time for this shit.

Rant over.