Don’t be a Jerk

You may know that I am a bit of a geek.  My geek-ness extends to enthusiastically reading the Jedi Apprentice series of children’s novels, watching Star Trek reruns on SciFi and wiki-stalking Apple Founder Steve Jobs. 

A few years ago, as any good geek would do, I signed up for a Twitter account. You know, Twitter…..that thing Charlie Sheen is creating as exhibit A for his future commitment hearing. 

As fate would have it, I followed a friend, who followed a friend, who followed a friend, who followed this guy who went by @wilw.  I started following Mr. @w because he was funny and sarcastic and because a lot of other people were following him, so it seemed like the cool thing to do.  And being a geek, I’m always trying to get in good with the cool kids.

After several days of reading 140 character bursts of Mr. @w talking about his dog, his wife and/or his latest computer game, I decided to click his profile link and read his blog.  It was at this point that I discovered that Mr. @w was not just some random guy on Twitter with a sense of humor.  It turns out he was a celebrity.

Mr. @w, I learned from his blog, was actually actor Wil Weaton who played Wesley Crusher on Star Trek The Next Generation.  Refer to paragraph A above to see why this would be meaningful to me. Wow, I thought, I am having a very significant near celebrity experience. Hallelujah!

At this point, I feel compelled to admit that Star Trek The Next Generation was not my favorite Star Trek show.  It was my second fave.  And the purest be damned, but I am going to blaspheme and say that the original Star Trek series was also not my favorite either.  I rank it third.   I am, unfortunately, in that small segment of geeks who appreciated the nuances of Star Trek Voyager.  I guess I am a sucker for a lost in space story.  But I digress. (I rank Deep Space Nine at the bottom if you must know.)

Getting back to the point, I have since become a fan of Mr. @w, not for his celebrity, but for his comments on the human condition.  In particular, I have become a proponent of his motto which is "Don’t be a Dick."  Of course, being a Mom and a lady of refinement, I can’t walk around saying “Don’t be a Dick.”  So I have modified the saying for more delicate sensibilities to be “Don’t be a Jerk”, which I believe to be less crass while conveying the same meaning for my PG audience.

Anyway, here is the philosophy in a two steps:

Step 1. Don’t

Step 2. Be a Jerk.

Wow.  Pretty simple.  In fact, these four words sum up the golden rule. You know that one.  "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  In other words, don't mess with other people.  Don't treat other people poorly.  Don't respond as a jerk because someone else acts like a jerk.

Let me give you an example.  You are driving to work and some buffoon in a red sports car cuts you off and then whips YOU the finger.  Hey, he was the one who crossed three lanes of traffic.  He’s the jerk! Right?

At this point, you have two choices.  Choice one, whip him the finger and tailgate him for the next three miles.  Or, choice two.  Don’t be a jerk.  Just because someone else treated you like a jerk is no reason to respond in kind.   This is called taking the higher road.  Not only will you feel much better if you do it, but your chances of being charged with criminal intimidation with a motorized vehicle are much slimmer.

So, as you go through your day, remember “Don’t be a Jerk.” (With recognition to @w for having summarized the thought so eloquently in the first place.)  Oh, and live long and prosper.