CARLTON FLETCHER: No, perception — and social media posts — are not always reality

“Before you abuse, criticize and accuse, walk a mile in my shoes.”

— Joe South

I listen to the line sung by Jackson Browne in one of his many great songs — “These Days” — and I feel the words in the depths of my being. They’re words we should all embrace:

“Please don’t confront me with my failures … I’m aware of them.”

In this time of partisan political pettiness, how awesome would it be if people — not really the politicians, who, by running for office, opened themselves up to criticism, at least for the decisions they make that impact other people’s pocketbooks — would heed Browne’s words?

Sadly, though, that’s not the kind of world we live in. We, instead, consider it sport — our God-given right, even — to dig so that we can find any little thing to use against our enemies, real and perceived. And, in the age of anything-goes social media, there’s usually plenty of ammunition.

What’s utterly amazing about this quest to find stones to hurl at others is that so many of us often are guilty of the same so-called “sins” that we use in our smear campaigns. And so often the true stories of these transgressions have very little to do with what’s been spread in the public. But that’s of little significance. There’s a saying that has become popular in this age of cynicism: Perception is reality.

But that’s just another cop-out that helps us to feel good about the spread of misinformation, half-truths and outright lies. So what if something we said that just didn’t happen to be true damaged someone else? The perception is that that person is a bad person — at least three people said so on social media — therefore, we’re only the messenger in this scenario.

One of my favorite movie scenes of all-time is the “rap battle” at the end of the movie “Eight Mile.” “B Rabbit,” played by real-life rapper Eminem, is in the finals of a rap battle at a Detroit club, set to take on an opponent, Papa Doc, who, with his friends in the “Free World” clique, had physically and verbally abused Rabbit and his friends. Papa Doc had already shamed Rabbit at another such battle (early in the movie), but this time Rabbit was prepared.

Going first, B Rabbit stole Papa Doc’s thunder by telling the crowd what his opponent planned to say about him … “I am white, I am a f—ing bum, I do live in a trailer with my mom. My boy Future is an Uncle Tom; I do got a dumb friend named Cheddar Bob, Who shoots himself in his leg with his own gun.”

Rabbit finishes by telling the crowd about Papa Doc and his background, leaving his flustered opponent speechless.

Man, how cool would it be if we could all just stand up and say, “Yes, I have done things in my life I’m not proud of, but I’ve learned from my mistakes and I’m now trying to be the best person I could be”? That, most likely, would at the very least cut back on the criticism of these social media terrorists whose primary concern is to tear apart anyone who challenges them or opposes their opinion.

Jesus told a crowd that condemned Mary Magdalene, a former prostitute, and called for her to be stoned, as was the custom of that time, that anyone who was without sin was OK to cast the first stone. When Jesus looked up again, all the stones that had been gathered for the stoning were lying on the ground, and the would-be executioners were walking away, no doubt mumbling to themselves that they’d been cheated out of a good and righteous stoning.

We’re all going to criticize others. It’s our nature. But going after someone because he or she holds different beliefs is, I think, akin to those not-so-perfect citizens of long ago who came out looking for blood and went home with a message.