It's a Free Facebook Country!

Sookie and Eric from True Blood.

Yesterday I had a Facebook connection write me a private message in which she demanded I remove this beautiful picture of characters Eric and Sookie from my Wall. She didn't suggest (not that the suggesting would have been appropriate either), she straightforward demanded, as if she any power at all to tell me what I could or could not post on my "private" Wall on my "private" Facebook account. Within two seconds of receiving her demand, I de-friended her. Now she looked like she was from a foreign country. And maybe in some less open countries, you could get away with such a ridiculous demand, but not in a free Democracy. I could say I was shocked, but then again not really. People say and do some pretty absurd things. I once had a gal tell me essentially 3L Publishing was not a "real" publishing company (I think our some 30 books would suggest otherwise). But aren't you really happy we live in a free country where we can freely post or express our opinions? Now Facebook has standards, of course, and I could not post a naked picture of Sookie and Eric; but this picture is a beautiful, harmless, fully clothed picture of two lovers kissing. They are touching each other's hair and heads not their privates! And even if they were fully clothed touching their privates, Facebook wouldn't have made me remove it. I think, however, the real cherry on the proverbial sundae is that my Facebook Wall is PRIVATE! You are there by choice. If you don't like what I post, remove yourself. You have absolutely no right to tell me or anybody else to remove a post you deem offensive! Guess what else. My blog is private too. If you don't like what I write about, don't read it. No, the world doesn't revolve around you, and no, you don't get to tell me what to post on my private Facebook Wall or what to blog about. I think sometimes people lose sight of personal responsibility. You are in the driver's seat. Vote with your de-friend button or your ability to not read something. Do not run around and act like a dictator and tell others what they can or cannot write about. Freedoms in a Democracy should never be taken for granted. And that is a reminder of why I love the USA.

P.S. the offending picture is the highest rated page view in the history of this blog. I am willing to suggest the some 250 people who voted with their view don't exactly agree with our little dictator.