The More Important Blocking

I have been blocked by complete strangers in foreign countries. If I alienated a connection I would feel badly. Basically it means I am not welcome on LinkedIn Audio. Many of them use that and/or Clubhouse. They gave me the death penalty so there is nothing to say.

Cancel culture and obliterating certain people from society might make someone on Twitter feel better. I never liked The Dukes of Hazzard. Many do and the fact the scofflaws drove a car emblazoned with the rebel flag is no more offensive than Burt Reynolds driving a Trans Am with an eagle on the front or Starsky and Hutch driving a red car with a white stripe.

It's a paint job. While that show made the police look like idiots and in every chase no one called for backup; I dealt with jerks who waved confederate flags and yelled nasty words out of cars.

That is more offensive than some television show I never watched. I was stuck with relatives who enjoyed that program serving as reminder that when my sister was born my parents sought out better, more life affirming relatives.

One of my cousins whom I was subjected to was a racist jerk. It's one thing for the older generation to use racial epithets. That was how they were raised. Still doesn't make it right. The younger one who was insensitive and reared his ugly head when his sister was on her deathbed- Sidebar.

Karen was a cousin I met when she found a job in this area. She graduated Penn State as the first member of her family to earn a degree. In comparison- I am probably the first in my family never to go to college. It would not have ended well. Karen was around during the most tumultuous year of our lives as it was ground zero of the divorce. She was someone whom I could speak to.

She was more receptive than eight hundred therapists who added nothing to my life. She found another residence later on when she was settled into her job and we lost contact. There was no falling out; some people drift away.

Many years later I was informed she had cancer. She smoked a lot of cigarettes and did not go to the doctor until it was too late. Another cousin did not tell us she was in bad shape until the night before she passed. That is not information to withhold. I was reflecting on the relationship when the call came through.

That cousin was at the hospital. Before I could ask anything Karen's brother heard I was on the phone and angrily called me a "Bum". His sense of humor and mine were not the same.

After not hearing from him for years he proved he was still the same energy drain. I mentioned his excessive use of The N word. There were no people of color in his life and he still used this word for which there is no statute of limitations.

The call ended abruptly. There was nothing more to say. If I were to see Karen one final time (I never use the name pejoratively in her honor) I would have been subjected to bad relatives whom I never heard from again.

They are best forgotten. With a memory like mine I recall good people and not so good. When the less than wonderful come up I think "There is no way I would encounter them again." No one heinous has tried contacting me on social media.

Some whom I didn't like earlier in life reached out, I gave them another chance and they have been alright. That's better than dead end people who belong in the rear view. There is no good reason to dwell on them. Recall the ones who made you feel better and lifted you up. The ones who tried knocking you down have little to offer and they wasted their opportunity to make a positive impact.