some people.

     I'm a woodworker. Well, I can, at least pretend to be one pretty well. Because of this hobby of mine, I'm a member of quite a few woodworking groups on Facebook. One of these groups is called, Woodworking For Beginners and as I'm sure, just from the name, you can gather what and who the group is geared toward. Just to be safe though, Woodworking For Beginners is a spot where those new to the craft, those who have been at it a while and skilled craftsman alike can share ideas and projects, ask questions, advise direction, offer assistance and pretty much anything and everything of the sort.

    One recent post was exactly what you might not expect to see but still fell perfectly into place amongst the sea of posts that have been made since the group was created. We will call the author of this one particular post, "Nick".

    Nick looked to be somewhere between mid 20s to early to mid 30s. Nick has a severe anxiety problem and it was something that, he was sincerely hoping would be helped by this new found love of his. That, was until he started to learn about the possible negative health risks that can be caused by the inhalation of wood dust particulates. Nick found out that you could develop lung cancer just by breathing in wood dust. That anxiety, immediately came roaring back.

Here is what Nick wrote...

 "I am having anxiety. Just started wood working and and have been doing some projects. But just found out saw dust is hazardous to your health and need all this ventilation equipment.nim worried now that I may get sick. Waa having a great time doing this but now I feel like I can't without getting another anxiety attack"

    By the time I saw this post, there were roughly 175 comments already. Craftsman teaching him about proper PPE and other equipment used in the shop to help control the amount of dust in the air. There were members sharing with him how they themselves deal with their anxiety. There were the old timers that were trying to express that there is nothing to be scared of and that wood dust is harmless. Most likely typing their responses in between coughs. 

And then there were the special responders. 

    The first thing I noticed was the reaction emojis. There were some likes (👍🏻), loves (❤), a few sads (😥) and then there were these...😂😂😂. Now, I don't know about you but, I don't see a single thing anywhere in that post of which I found humorous. I can look over and over again and I still can't find it. I can't find it because its not fucking there. There isn't a single fucking word that he expressed that made me even chuckle. Not even a little. That is what made me read on. Something, that probably would have been a good idea to go ahead and skip if not for anything else other than the levels of my blood pressure. 

I started seeing comments like....

"Sell your tools and hide in your ex-shop"

 and

"Is this what adults really get anxious over" 

or just a very thought out...

"Hahahahah"

and then there was this prick who posted nothing but a 

"Goodbye" with a couple 👋👋

Blood pressure Brian... Blood pressure. 

Now, of course, I felt compelled to say something.

    I honestly think there is a razors edge here that one would walk on when participating in this discussion. A fine line between helpful and not if you will. Responding in a certain way can cause a reaction that ends up being worse than the original comment and essentially causing more harm than not. On the other hand, one could respond with something that would end up being the proverbial bar of soap being jammed down their throats. Hopefully, resulting in the commenter rethinking every decision they ever made in their lives or at least making their mothers rethink one decision they made in theirs. 

    It's still too early to tell but, I'm confident that my comment will carry the effect of the ladder. I did my best to keep it civil because there are rules and guidelines that need to be followed in these groups. Otherwise you run the risk of being removed from said group and I enjoy being a member of every one of them. 

     That, is ultimately, how and why this rant ended up here. It is how this post ended up with that very polite and well-thought-out title. I can get away with getting a little more off of my chest here without the negative consequences I might face if I had in the group. 

My comment.....

"Man, there are some assholes amongst craftsman here. You know exactly who you are and you should be ashamed of yourselves. Grow the fuck up. This man is finding passion in the craft that we all hold dear and showing genuine concern about his health and you make fun of him? Laugh at him? Does that make you feel good about yourself? Is your self esteem that diminished? Your sense of self worth all dried up? There are plenty of groups on Facebook where you are more than welcome to express to the world how much you hate yourself by pointing and laughing at others. This is not one of them. Now go right ahead and prove me right by turning it on me. Point and laugh and make fun of me with some brilliant, creative, original and thought provoking satire that nobody here has ever heard before. In the mean time, shut up and let Nick receive the education that he's requesting from real craftsman. Might even be a good idea for you to listen as well. 

Nick, this entire feed is filled with good information. Even from the idiots and assholes. You get to learn about proper PPE and also who in this craft is going to be gone from this earth long before you because they're too cool to even educate themselves. Just put on your mask bro...turn on the dust collector....and smile and wave. Just smile and wave. 👋🙂"

    Given the specific platform in which this discussion took place, I had to bite my tongue. I had to put the rising mercury on pause and find that inner woodworker who knows how essential being patient can be in any given situation. I had to do it because, well, I didn't want to be booted from the group. Luckily....here,  I don't. 

    I had to refrain from saying things like...

Don't worry Nick. What you don't see written from the ones who just typed, "hahahah" is the uncontrollable dry cough that followed for hours or even days after which was caused by years of being a mask-less tough guy and breathing in an entire sequoia's worth of cancerous tumor causing saw dust.

or

Nick, everything written here is of value. From the craftsmen, you get to learn an invaluable lesson on PPE and proper shop practices. From the others, you get to learn who in this craft is a Trump supporter.

or

You're a waste of fucking oxygen and aren't deserving of the tools you have in your shop. 

Man, I love having the ability and avenue to express myself freely and unedited when the situation arises. Even if that avenue is a less popular and less read side street.