February 21st
It's been some weekend on IRC. For those of you unfamiliar with IRC, it stands for Internet Relay Chat. I often frequent the #poetry channel on Galaxynet servers. It's almost amazing. I've been there a few years now, but these past two days we've seen the most interesting ways in which people can irritate others online.
Just Saturday evening I had to ban someone from the channel for being a public nuisance. As usual I tried to reason with the person, hoping there was a misunderstanding of sorts. After a short while, another operator in the channel (who wasn't as patient) decided enough was enough, and banned the person from the channel. In the next 48 hours, I would have two people tell me how stupid I was, for no apparent reason at all. One of them blamed me for putting poetry on the channel and told me to shut up. I looked at the channel name #poetry, and was utterly shocked and amazed at this person's lack of literacy. The other just muttered nonsense, saying he was drunk and all, and started insulting others in the channel.
Just when I thought IRC idiot weekend was over, it got extended to include Monday. A few hours ago, there was a smart-aleck in the channel who seemed to have tabs on everyone with a religious belief. He/she positioned him/herself as an agnostic, and apparently had an immense sense of ego. As usual, I just stated my beliefs, not criticizing the other person's belief. I got called incompetent, and the works. I just cannot believe how some people think they have the answers to the creation of the world, when in fact all of humankind live in constant discovery of the seemingly simple things around us. We have yet to even scrape the surface of creation, and yet we have people who deny the existence of God. It wasn't too long ago when the earth was thought of as flat, and we have people who question the nature of God.
I'm not forcing the bible on anyone. I believe what I believe, because God has been real to me in my life. I know there are so many things I do not know, and therefore I won't argue the theories of creation, for I know they are but a movement of hands who belong to one greater than myself. I do not say I know what is cosmic in nature, for my knowledge is so small, compared to the almost infinite universe we live in.
I'm enthralled by the works of creation that is all around me. I'm amazed at mathematic laws, at the consistency of Physics, at the wonder of words. We are discovering this as we go along. No one can claim to even have invented any of this. The word discover means only to uncover what is hidden. It has always been there. I was shocked at this person's lack of awe, when faced with infinity.
I also learnt something about myself. Despite my best efforts, I get defensive whenever someone judges me as incompetent or stupid. I get offended when I get slighted. I know some of you think of it as human nature, and you're probably right, but it's not Christian nature. I'm not being self-righteous, which is why I'm even telling you my weakness, but I know what I should be, and what I should not.
I always look out for friends online when I meet people that irritate me. I ask them urgently to hold me back, to help me. I've found new friends, and I treasure the old ones. They watch out for me, that the Hyde inside does not take full reign of the things I say or do. They were there for me these few days. Indeed they were godsend, to see that the worst of me didn't fully manifest itself. Thank you, Navelle, Nadir and Romzie for watching over me and standing up for me. I appreciate it.
So even though it seemed that it had been a horrible weekend, some friendships were formed, and others forged in gold.
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