30
May

Why Social Media Posts Can Make Or Break You- Think Before Posting…

I’m often amazed that everyone seems to think their own opinions or insights mirror everyone else’s. They don’t. 

Last night, my twin sister called me about a tweet that had spread quickly on Twitter regarding Roseanne Barr. 

Whether you are a fan of Roseanne or not, “poking fun at” or making derogatory comments, posts or statements is hurtful to whomever is the target. I know, I know “she’s a comedian.” But, regardless of whether you found the Tweet offensive or acceptable, the lady who was targeted was the actual victim here and not Roseanne. 

Apologizing after hurting or offending someone or even offending someone doesn’t remove or even downplay what’s been said or done. 

These public apologies are becoming more and more the norm. Apologies after hurting someone else are a little too little and a little too late.

How’s about not doing anything wrong or offensive in the first place and saving the apology? 

Roseanne deleted the initial tweet but let’s face it, deleting was a little too little and, a little too late. She should have never posted it in the first place. 

What should be happening instead is that people start thinking before speaking, typing or posting. 

Where are everyone’s parents when their kids are misbehaving? When growing up in sunny California we saw less fortunate people benefiting from the kindness of others and we also saw children behaving with manners. Their parents taught them to say please or thank you and to treat their elders with respect. It’s far harder to find respectful teenagers in this day and age than I ever imagined. 

“the OLDEST tree IN the ORCHARD, stands ON the DEEPEST roots, PROVIDES greater SHADE, and BARES the SWEETEST fruit.” Children learn what they live. If you teach your children to be hateful or disrespectful, you’re going to get what you give.As I continue to ponder why anyone might think posting their own derogatory thoughts or opinions publicly is “acceptable” these days, today’s blog will outline why You Should Think First and, Post or Comment Second.

For those who missed my previous blogs regarding “letting it all hang out” on public posts, I’m including this informative blog link- You Are What You Post.

I grew up hearing “if you don’t have anything good to say- don’t” but, apparently the things we learned in kindergarten must’ve been forgotten by a few folks. 

Manners have flown out the window. Everyone is more concerned with their own needs. I hold doors open for men and women both. Guess who bothers to stop and thank me? The men. 

For some reason that I’ve yet to understand, women refuse to thank anyone for holding the door for them these days or worse, expect everybody to accommodate their needs as if we were all the lowly servants at the disposal of the fancy pants, “I’m better than you” crowd. 

Good manners never go out of style! Please and thank you work wonders in today’s society. You’re never to busy to be kind unless of course, you believe that you are so special and so superior that whatever you do or say is okay. 

My sister, Cindy is famous for her iconic views of life. She watches and observes not only our clients and family but also complete strangers to effectively “come up with” truthful quotes that sum up certain situations.

My sister was tad offended one day when I pointed out that many of her quotes can be cynical. Cindy isn’t trying to be critical though she’s just being honest. 

What makes her Quotes so funny is that they always have truth in them. 

#Cindyism Quotes are used on Pawning Planners Apparel sold at my Texas Twins Treasures storefront. The funds generated are used to sponsor 10-20 families every year. 

For a link to Cindy’s hilarious blog, click here- #Cindyism Quotes- Meet My GingerTwin!

“Gratitude is the difference between Appreciation and a Sense of Entitlement.”

From politics to religion, racism or anything else that isn’t “family friendly,” my sister and I both skip these types of posts on threads from Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and even Google Plus. 

My sister and I never comment, like or share anything that could be considered either political, racist or offensive or even one sided because if we are uncomfortable reading or seeing something, we realize that we aren’t alone. Millions of others are just as put out as we are.

Not everyone will share your views and opinions. Be aware of this because it’s true. 

My twin sister often tells her twin granddaughters that “Without Common Sense- Your Wealth Today Can Be Your Poverty Tomorrow.”

It’s sound advice from gossiping at school to using social media to gossip, both of the twins realize and recognize that even though they are only thirteen, that commenting about a post that may (or may not be derogatory) is just as bad as posting something themselves. How? Guilt By Association. 

Teaching our children and grandchildren compassion at a young age is as important to us as teaching them the differences between right and wrong. 

My twin sister and I have no “grey areas in our lives.” It’s black or white and it’s either right or wrong. 

We live in a society where everyone believes they are right and that they are practicing free speech. Common Sense? Yes, I believe that promoting anyone who views themselves to be superior to everyone else in their thought process should certainly stop, look and listen to themselves.Generally, these Social Media Serial Posters think everyone should agree with them. Their views. Their opinions. 

Being famous or infamous for being offensive isn’t a compliment to anyone. Frankly, I could care less about fitting in with the crowd. 

We love everybody and welcome anyone which is why our client base is unlike any other event vendor in the world. 

From rich to poor, from Republican to Democrat, from Christian to Pagan, there isn’t another “all for one and one for all” driven event business that judges no one like ours in an industry that is often driven solely on greed. 

Weddings & Funerals have one thing in common. MONEY. Anyone in either business is trying to make as much money as they can on the client whether it’s a joyous occasion or a sad event. This is a fact. No one among our competitors cares whether you have any money or not. 

Pawning Planners Clients are different because they have no money. They barter their event services in order to book services.

We care about helping strangers when no one else in the Events Business will. Some of our saddest stories come from Clients who had no money or anything of value to barter their service. 

These families had no one to help them with their Dream Event, Rent Party, Estate Liquidation or Memorial. I’ve never turned anyone away nor has my family when someone came to us for help with nothing to offer in return. How desperate were they? 

No one including their own friends and family members bothered to step up and lend a hand.

A few folks assume the more controversial they are- the more relevant they are. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Controversy creates Chaos. 

My life is tidy and social media posts support that. I don’t choose sides on any topic because I prefer to stay neutral. Why? Because you will lose at least half your audience by doing so. Not everyone will agree with what you think or believe. I have numerous family members currently active in the Military. 

I’m open and honest regarding supporting Military Members as well as my LBGT Clients, Fire, Police, and First Responders by offering year Round discounts for Members who are either currently active or Retired. 

Whether my connections “support the Police or the Military” or not, or whether “they support LBGT marriage” or not, or even whether they “believe in Prison Weddings” or not, my connections realize that I’m up front and quite honest about my rather diverse client base. Some may have differing opinions regarding my “full circle” Client bases but, that’s their luggage not mine. 

Photos posted on my social media represent a wide variety of families and events. My Clients from Texas Twins Events often look different from Clients from The Pawning Planners. Why? Background and economic standing. 

Texas Twins Events Clients are often white collar while Pawning Planners Clients are blue collar. 

Two businesses that directly market two wildly different sets of clients? Absolutely! We didn’t leave anyone out when it came to making Dream Events a Reality.

The primary differences between a Texas Twins Event Client and a Pawning Planners Client are often evident based on the location we are performing a ceremony at as well as perhaps the clothing of guests and the Clients themselves. 

Occasionally the guests and clients at a Pawning Planners event are missing a few teeth. I’ve had comments on a post regarding a Family “needing to go to the gym” or a Bride “being ugly” or pregnant “shotgun wedding?” 

I delete offensive comments on posts to protect my clients from being hurt or offended on a regular basis.The crude comments regarding missing teeth continued to pour in after someone accused my Bride a few years ago of wearing Billy Bob Teeth to her own wedding. They were her actual teeth. Not everyone can afford a good dentist!A Military LBGT Couple’s photo had a quickly deleted comment “she doesn’t have arms and a leg? Where do you find these people?!”

I don’t find them. They find us. I can promise you that whatever made these families different to others never occurred to me or my family. 

We believe Love Is Love. We don’t care how you dress, where you live, what you drive, where you work or whether you have nice clothes or great teeth. What we do care about is how you treat us. My entire family work with me on location and, we have a Rainbow of Clients who may look different but, families are families.


Not everyone enjoys being the butt of a joke and actions often speak louder than words…