I want to establish a new hashtag, a new way of marking my posts that means something that I’ve always tried to imply, but never said explicitly.
Everyone knows the phrase “Full of Shit”, it’s usually accompanied by you are, or you’re, I am, we are, they are, or even it’s or that’s. We know what it means; you’re making thing up, you are exaggerating for effect or just outright lying. It’s not always to cause any harm, but it’s rarely a good thing.
There is the whole Santa thing, of course. Parents are completely FoS when they tell their kids that some dude that has a 24-hour surveillance system that covers every person, in real time, on the planet (what is that now, 8 billion?) with a staff of elves, and a wife, of course. And this same fellow covers the entire globe in 24-hours. Not just one circuit, but every house, hut, and lean-to in every city, town or village in every country, territory and province in the world. All in just 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds. (Maybe a few extra billionths of a second, even) Plus, this same dude lives off cookies and milk as his source of sustenance during this trip (this does check out vis-a-vis his purported jolly gut, but verisimilitude does not equal truth) In addition, this same fellow, dressed in red and white, belted with a broad belt and gold buckle, can get into any house, castle or fort with the skill of a bad smell, all without creasing his outfit. And that he uses the greatest cat-burglar skill in history to not profit, but to give away presents! He’s not a creeper in the stranger-danger sense, despite have all the hallmarks of such, but he drops by to eat cookies and fill stockings.
That is the greatest FoS story in history, and it’s never meant to hurt anyone, but invariably hurts every kid when they learn the truth. First, the loss of innocence in the myth, but just as significantly, they learn that their parents are Big Fat Liars. And that big loss of trust coming from a 7-year-old can be felt through generations. A grandmother that feels that sense of betrayal is hurt when their favorite grandkid won’t let her call them their little elves, hobgoblins or fairy princesses.
But, this is not a screed on Christmas lies or that size never matters, it’s the opposite. I want to use EoS as a tag. So that when you see it, you’ll know I’m telling the truth, as I know it. That I’m being honest, sincere and straight with you. I might be wrong, that happens sometimes, but it’ll be an honest mistake, no attempt is made to trick you, in any way.
So, look for the tag, and you’ll know what it means.