There was a time that I enjoyed reading the comment sections of online news articles. People were passionate in their thoughts and feelings and shared them with other readers in a way that only a few would consider it offensive.

In other words, there was a time when comments were encouraged.

Those times have changed.

I’m very discerning about which sites I will read comments on specific articles. I do my best to avoid the comment sections on Yahoo! News, local newspaper articles, and many celeb gossip sites. What I’ve learned is that the comment section is where many people show their horns, and it’s nasty. Racial, discriminatory, homophobic, antisemitic, you name it. This is where the true “haters” of the world rear their ugly heads.

Evidently a Cheerios commercial caused an uproar in the comments section on YouTube.

The comments revolved around the interracial family depicted in the commercial. I thought it was 2013 not 1913.

The first time I watched this commercial I paid no attention to the mother or the father. The standout is the little girl. Her facial expressions are priceless. But evidently several individuals had a HUGE issue with the interracial couple that they shared their displeasure in the comment section. The comment section was disabled.

Currently I’m avoiding reading anything about the George Zimmerman trail. I remember when the discussions grew last spring about Trayvon Martin, George Zimmerman and “Stand Your Ground” law. Yikes! I wanted to poke my eyes out with a fork. The hate that was spewed was incredible. Who says racism doesn’t exist?

I wonder how open folks would be leaving hateful comments if their picture was included with their comment along with their IP address?

When I was younger, I was taught to use my filters. “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all” was a phrase I heard often.  Everything doesn’t require a comment. Everything I think may be funny may not be funny to others. For that reason, I give a lot of thought to if I comment, should I comment, if what I want to say could be considered offensive, and if what I want to say is really all that important in the big scheme of things.

How do you navigate negative or sarcastic comments? Does it affect your blood pressure like it does mine?

I welcome your comments.