Pedro Heils Nutella

Hey, K.

Thanks for your link and your invitation to like it. I have to say that I would love to like that organization officially, but that I have a principle dislike of liking. It would sound more profound to say I have 'philosophical issues' with it, but no, it's more just a dislike of liking. Or, again, some rational blockade. I simply cannot bring myself to click the like button. Almost ever. Not only do I feel as if I’m labelling myself, putting free bumper stickers on my ass of all the cool bars I’ve been to; and not only do I think 'I like this part of it, but that part I do not like' (like is very absolute, more absolute than I am prepared to go with almost everything in life), but the greatest objection for me lies in the schoolboy & -girl feel of liking. ‘Do you like Bruce Springsteen? Ooh, I, like, totally like Bruce Springsteen! He’s so dreamy...’ (A preposterous example because no one thinks Bruce Springsteen is dreamy.) And so I feel childish and robotic for clicking like. Pure nonsense of course, but that's the loony I have to deal with.

It feels as if people are saying 'heil' to something. Messages popping up: ‘Bob heils K-Mart’, ‘Natasha heils The London Symphony Orchestra’, ‘Pedro heils Nutella chocolate spread’. Sometimes I do it for ironic purposes, like-clicking, and I have liked a few writers and musicians in the past. And the snooker player Stephen Hendry, whom I not réálly like, but counts as my favourite athlete.

Not that I think there’s anything wrong with other people heiling all kind of stuff. That’s for them to decide. Live & let heil, is what I say. I greatly admire everyone’s moral flexibility in this. I’m even a little jealous about it. I wish I could cast my vote so easily and come out and say “I like Radiohead” (and I do), but then again, I would never go advertise myself as a Radiohead fan, a member of the Radioheadlikers tribe… Somebody help me, I’m so rigid (or free... which is the same thing in a way).

 

Facebook just isn't my habitat. So just laugh and shake your head when you think I'm overreacting, which is my speciality. However, thanks for sending me this. Perhaps I can just follow your link without having to heil them? I like you!

[Another old text posted to clean my computer.]