Backlash

So the “Where’s Bernie?” promotion turned into a huge fiasco yesterday, escalating even more after I posted my little rant about it. It turns out the girl who swiped ~35 of the “stach”-ues from the big lakefront location posted braggart pictures of them all jammed in her trunk on Twitter and Facebook. Then she had the gall to complain that she didn’t get any that had a prize attached!! (the 400 scattered around in the other parks were the ones that had prizes attached. the 1,000 lakefront ones did not) Seriously, the greed on display yesterday was incredible and pretty sickening, what with her and others taking as many Bernies as they could get their grubby hands on just to turn around and try to sell them on eBay for hundreds of dollars. This girl became Milwaukee’s most hated person by 7:30 yesterday morning. I kept reading the comments people were posting about her on Twitter and in response to numerous articles on the debacle that cropped up throughout the day, and it honestly sounded like a lynch mob was going to form to hunt her down.

Now here’s where it got a little out of control. Someone published both her home address and her phone number on Twitter. What?? Sure what she did was shitty and helped ruin the fun for the rest of us, but publicizing her private information? That’s too far. She had to delete her Twitter account and lock down her Facebook page, I’m sure because of all the hate traffic she was getting. Now she has to worry about people storming her house to harass her in person or leaving her steaming voicemails? Wow.

This whole episode presented an interesting study in human behavior. On one end of the spectrum were those of us who followed the rules, played fair, and lost, and on the other end were those who disobeyed the rules, cheated, and won. And then of course there were the resultant angry masses of fair-players releasing their disdain for all of the cheaters through any social media outlet they could find. Throughout the hatefest that ensued once everyone realized people had cheated and gone early to grab the Bernies, I couldn’t help but wonder – if I had gotten there early and seen everyone taking the stach-ues before the designated time, would I have joined in and taken one while I had the opportunity too, or would I have waited until the start time like we had been instructed and watched as my chances of getting anything vanished before my eyes? As much as I wholeheartedly wanted to say I would absolutely 100% have waited like we were supposed to, there was a tiny piece of me that kept thinking, but man, it would have been nice to have a Bernie if I’d had the chance.

And then I got really frustrated with myself for thinking that way. Here I was, joining right in on the bashing of those who disregarded the rules and got the prize at the expense of the rest of us, yet maybe I would have been one of those being bashed if I’d just gotten to the park half an hour earlier. I’d like to think that the simple fact that we did not arrive at the park any earlier than a few minutes before 7:00 yesterday morning, fully expecting to see a lawn full of Bernies waiting for us, proves that I really was one of the fair-players. But what if we’d gotten ready that much faster, dropped D off at daycare 10 minutes earlier or even taken her after we’d gone to the park, and gotten down to the lakefront in time to see the Brewers van guy handing out Bernies to anyone who was already there? Hmm, what if?? Would we really have been able to say nope, we’re waiting until 7:00 like the rules state? Unfortunately, I can’t with a clear conscience say that answer would definitely have been yes. That 18″ tall plastic lawn ornament statue may have just been too damn tempting for the fair-player in me to resist.

This episode has proven to me, however, that I really do want to be a fair-player. Sure I may lose out on stuff sometimes like we did yesterday with the Bernies, but I want to be able to teach D by example. You know, the whole actions speak louder than words thing. And I certainly don’t want her growing up believing the notion that nice guys (or girls!) always finish last and the only way to get what you want in life is to knock others down and out of the way. Yes, she will have to fight for what she believes and wants sometimes, but I want her to learn that can be done without cheating others. Integrity is something I want to instill in her, not greed. (wow has this kid changed me or what? a year ago i probably would’ve said you can take that fair-player stuff and shove it. i want a bernie!)

So I apologize for hating you yesterday, Ms. McHardie (the Bernie hoarder). What you did was not fair or right, and I hope you realize that now (hopefully without too many eggs or too much tp on your house). You and all the other cheaters ruined a really fun event for the rest of us, incensed entire legions of Brewers fans, and received national coverage of your shenanigans. But having your privacy invaded wasn’t fair either – they were just lawn ornaments, after all. I guess my point here is that through all of this I hope both you and I learn to always be fair-players. (and if you don’t, then i at least hope people saw through your eBay greed and you got zero profits from your Bernie haul yesterday. suck it! i can play fair, but that doesn’t mean i have to like you! 😉 )