If you think we’ve all gotten a little more hateful lately, you’ll find validation in the viral response to a happy lil tweet from Daisey Beaton, a newlywed who identifies as… nice. How dare she try to spread love and light through Elon Musk’s toxic Twitterverse?
You see recently Beaton tweeted how she enjoys sharing a cup of coffee with the husband she loves “so much” in their sun-splashed garden every morning. She shared giddily how they talk for hours and never run out of things to say.
And now she must die.
OK, not exactly but let’s just say things did not go well. Beaton, whose tweets are full of optimism and pictures of her crochet projects and container gardening, seems like the kind of sweet soul who will insist on giving birth one day in a Walmart kiddy pool in her living room. As she would say: “wykyk.” (When you know, you know. Duh.)
So why did her tweet about enjoying being with her new husband and having a pour-over every morning make so many so mad?
No sooner than Daisey posted her happy coffee moment than hundreds countered with the advice that she should “get a job!” There was so much backlash, an obviously wounded Daisey responded she does have a job and so does her husband. She’s a cosmetologist who specializes in vegan eyelashes and her husband is a professional skateboarder. The 80 percent snark in my personal pie chart wants desperately to make a joke about that but I won’t. Because he also teaches yoga. OK, this is really testing me and telling me it’s possible I’m part of the problem. Wykyk.
There was also a lot of talk about how they live “minimally and consciously” which sounded silly but also completely genuine.
My question is this: What makes us hate on this sweet lil couple who live an uncomplicated life and work non-traditional hours? Why are we so quick to pounce?
There were hundreds of mean tweets accusing the couple of being privileged, clueless of the crappy lives of others and humble-bragging to the point of nausea.
But here’s the redemptive moment. The tweets were so mean, the tide turned thanks to humor. Yes, jokes pierced the piling-on and, as humor should, made thousands think, “Oh.”
An avalanche of “how dare you’s” gave way to a tsunami of “so you think you have it bad’s” that was genuinely hilarious.
@rjjago tweeted: “Way to have coffee with your husband ON STOLEN LAND. My wife and I have a cup of tepid rain water…before proceeding to our respective coalmines for the day.”
@cucciflipflopz wrote: “Some guys have all the luck. I was born with glass bones and paper skin. Every morning I break my legs and every night I break my arms. At night I lie awake in agony until my heart attacks put me to sleep.”
I give props to the nice folks who mounted a counter offense with simple “Leave them alone; love is always beautiful” but the snark! Now that’s the way to combat the dark forces. Always.
Humor may be the best way to keep us from devolving into a nation of writhing snakes in a bucket. Because I don’t know if you’ve noticed, we’re headed that way. This time, the cavalry arrived and the best ammo against hatefulness was…jokes.
Sure, the polar ice caps are disappearing but so is our collective sense of humor. (First, they came for our whoopie cushions…)
We live in a time where humor can save us if we let it. I’m often asked if I think everything’s a joke. Of course not. But humor can defuse, delight and, best of all, cause us to look at something with new eyes. Like a professional skateboarder.