Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Why I passed on the gay waitress tipping story

I passed on a story. I regret it now. 

I was outraged by the thought of a Christian couple stiffing a gay waitress and leaving an obnoxious message instead of a tip. This type of insensitive bullying makes my blood boil. I hate it.

I wanted to post, but when the story broke, I thought about it and passed. My reasoning was simple, it was a one-sided story. I don’t like one-sided stories as they often bring me inbox grief, so I passed.

I’m mad at myself now, because I realize my dislike for one-sided stories can be a filter which prevents critical thinking. What I should have done was think. I should have demanded the other side of the story. I should have asked to see proof. I should have thought about how it would have been possible to validate the story. I should have asked why everyone jumped in and donated money before the facts were in. Everything about this story should have caused me to dig deeper, but my filter stopped me because… I did not want the grief. If I had posted the story, my inbox would have filled-up with people complaining that I was anti-gay or a hater because I had questioned the authenticity of Dayna Morales’ story.

People want to believe this kind of story. I want to believe this kind of story myself because it fits my view of how some Christians act and that is a shame. I should have made the damn post.