LexTalk

I posted a Reel today.

Nothing controversial. No hot take. No politics. No debate.

It was literally my living room decorated for Halloween.

Little lights. Fall colors. Decorations that make me happy. A chill instrumental called September playing in the background.

Basically the least offensive corner of the internet imaginable.

And somebody commented:

“Lame.”

Facebook actually automatically hid the comment because it thought it might be offensive, off-topic, or spam — which, I’m sorry, is objectively a little funny.

But my first reaction?

Ohhhhh, girl.

You barked up the wrong Halloween tree today.

Because I’m human. Of course I clicked the profile. Of course my petty little inner voice immediately started compiling material for a rebuttal.

And then I caught myself.

That’s exactly the problem, isn’t it?

Someone throws a tiny bit of ugliness at us, and suddenly we’re tempted to throw some right back.

And we all know there’s already enough of it.

I don’t know this woman. I don’t know what kind of day she was having. I don’t know anything about her life beyond the fact that, for approximately three seconds today, she decided to be unnecessarily rude to a stranger on Facebook.

And I’m not going to pretend it didn’t annoy me.

It did.

But it also made me think about how incredibly comfortable we’ve become saying things online that we’d probably never say if we were standing in someone’s living room.

Imagine that interaction in real life.

You invite someone inside.

They look around at the pumpkins, lights, and decorations you’ve put up because they make you happy.

They stare at everything for a second.

Then they look directly at you and say:

“Lame.”

And walk away.

WHO DOES THAT?!

Yet somehow, put a screen between two people and suddenly perfectly ordinary adults forget the kindergarten lesson:

You don’t have to like everything. You also don’t have to announce every negative thought that enters your head.

That’s it.

That’s the revolutionary concept.

Scroll.

Keep scrolling.

The internet desperately needs to rediscover the scroll.

Because behind these little squares on our phones are actual people.

People decorating their houses.

People sharing recipes.

People showing off something they made.

People trying a new outfit.

People starting businesses.

People posting their cats.

People sharing something they’re proud of.

And yes, sometimes it’s cheesy.

Sometimes it’s weird.

Sometimes you won’t understand why anyone likes it.

Sometimes you might even think it’s…

lame.

That’s okay.

Not every thought requires a comment section.

So no, Random Facebook Lady, I’m not taking down my Halloween decorations.

In fact, tonight they’ll probably glow a little brighter.

Because the world already has plenty of ugly in it.

I’ll keep contributing pumpkins, twinkle lights, ridiculous amounts of seasonal decor, and whatever other harmless little things make life feel magical.

You can contribute whatever you choose.

But I hope it’s something kind.

And if not?

There’s always the scroll button.