Don't Mix the Serious with the Grave

Recently I've both observed and experienced how neutral observations or comments can be used as a springboard for some to launch bombastic reactions and attacks.

A friend recently wrote an article about how a particular bicycle platform (recumbent) was excluded from world class cycling competition in the mid-1930's.  He noted how Hitler was gaining influence in the world during that time.

A reader of his article jumped on him for mentioning Hitler, accusing him of maligning the memory of the millions who suffered under Nazism.

I recently asked a cyclist how she would train for an extremely challenging endurance event that included more than 33,000 feet of climbing over 500 miles in 48 hours.  She lives in a flat location. The cyclist unloaded a skreed, defending herself, accusing me of being critical, followed up with a dollop of semi-hysterical insults.

The only way to understand this kind of behavior is to be sympathetic to the pain these folks are experiencing.  A pain that is so very much `on the surface' that it generates an explosion of offense.

If we live long enough we get the opportunity to see ourselves in others.