Now, this probably seems like an odd post for me to write. Right now you’re probably thinking to yourselves, ‘Well, duh…..!’ but I have a point, I promise.
I’m 100% certain no-one who this week might be struggling to decide which way to vote tomorrow has ever stopped and thought, ‘I know, I’ll head over to Pickingtheday.com to see what Steph has to say, she’ll be able to provide me with some sensible and rational insight…’ I really hope not anyway, because they’d be like, ‘WAIT?? IT’S JUST ALL SHOES AND DRESSES!!’ because, yes, I basically write about shoes and dresses, with the odd rant about buses or the weather thrown in here and there for good measure.
I’m sure you are now wondering what my point to this post was then? Well, recently while having a conversation with someone about my blog, they asked me, “Why do you only write about silly things like clothes when there are important things going on in the world?”
Apparently, as an ‘educated and intelligent woman’ I have a duty and responsibility to use my voice wisely and educate the masses rather than spouting drivel about things that have no bearing on life. Otherwise I’m letting the side down, see. I think I was supposed to take it as a compliment that she thought I was educated and intelligent, but still, I take massive issue with this. Firstly, it’s not like I have a billion readers, though even if I did I’d still disagree. Secondly, this blog is something I do because I enjoy it. I like clothes and shoes, and I like looking at them, talking about them, and meeting other people who like them as much as me, so there. That’s not to say if I was being paid to write it I’d necessarily agree either – that would depend entirely on who was paying me I guess! But basically, I spend the vast majority of my life at work, in a job where I have to be in charge, make the decisions for a large number of people and talk about serious, important things all day long. Guess what? When I get home, I don’t always feel like continuing that trend!
This doesn’t mean I don’t talk about the serious things. I’m not an idiot – funnily enough people can have an opinion about the country’s economy or the migrant crisis and also like to look nice, who knew?? But I choose to talk about those things with a select group of people that I respect, that I know respect me and can safely discuss and disagree with without coming to blows. I’ve talked about Brexit. So much so that I’m sick to the back teeth of it and can’t wait for the whole damn thing to be done with, I just don’t want to talk about it here. Because do you know what? I actually don’t care what you all think, and I don’t expect you to care what I think either. I don’t mean that to be offensive, I simply mean that your vote is your business, and I’m not about to try and change your mind.
Politics has a horrible way of bringing out the worst in people. Many a time over the last few months has my finger hovered over the ‘unfollow’ button on Facebook as someone I thought I knew well posted something abhorrent during an election or referendum. It’s as though everyone suddenly decides there is only one right answer and everyone else is ‘WRONG GODDAMIT!!’ and I’ve always found this hard to get my head around. I don’t understand how you could ever expect everyone around you to have the exact same thoughts and opinions about how they want the country to be run when it affects such a huge amount of variables in your life. All anyone can do is try to sift out the bits that seem most important to them and try to base their decision around that, and that decision is bound to differ from those around you, even those with similar views and beliefs to yours, because your personal circumstances are different. So why do we all get so angry with each other for thinking differently to ourselves? I’ve seen awful things posted and said to each other from people I know on both sides of the fence this week and it’s just bonkers. Last week it even completely dominated, and almost ruined, a Birthday night out with a group of friends who have known and loved each other for years, people who up until this point had been perfectly capable of having different opinions without deciding that made them think differently about one another.
So yeah, basically I have no interest in telling you all which way I’ll be voting only to be met with a barrage of comments telling me I must be a moron – and they will come, regardless of what my stance is – and I also won’t be discussing it on social media for the same reasons, unless I happen to see a post I find amusing or informative, because actually I just go there to see pictures of your children and dogs and find out what you had for dinner, thank you very much. I genuinely believe that you are all entitled to your own opinion on Brexit, and unless you tell me you want out so that we can build a big wall around us and kick out anyone who isn’t white, you’ve probably got just as much chance of being right as me, so why would I want to argue with you about it? I have literally no idea what tomorrow’s vote will bring, but whichever way you chose to go, I’m not going to hate on you for voting differently to me!
Be nice to each other, people!
Love,
Picking the Day 