Like I said in the above tweet, when I was growing up, asking someone about what their religious views or their political views were, was considered impolite, if not downright rude. You just didn’t do it. Who you voted for, or even if you voted was no one’s business but yours. Same with whatever brand of religion you believed in or didn’t believe in. I can’t remember a single time in my childhood/young adulthood that someone asked me what I believed in or followed.

Even today, no one (at least in the “Real World”) has asked me whether or not I vote, whom I may or may not have voted for, or what my religious affiliation is or isn’t. Same with vaccination status.

I’m not trying to “blast” Pearly Things here, but I will say this:

If anyone were to ask me my vaccination status on a first meetup or a first date, I would tell them, “That’s none of your business.” And then I would excuse myself and leave.

Whether I’m vaccinated or not, whether I’ve had “booster shots” or not, is no one’s business but mine. I don’t care what your vaccination status is or isn’t. It’s none of my business.

Her tweet is indicative of who she is. What do I mean?

I’ve met plenty of people from Twitter in real life. How they act on Twitter is how they are in real life. If they act like a “sperg” on Twitter, my experience has been that’s how they are in real life. If they say stupid shit like, “What’s your vaccination status?” on Twitter, they will probably ask you or me that in real life. Sorry Pearly, but it’s none of your business. Thank you for your time, but clearly we aren’t going to be compatible.

BullRush, whom I have not only met on Twitter, but I have had him in my home, here in Salt Lake City, Utah, summed it up beautifully. It’s part of why I’ve met him in person, and not just at a bar, over a beer. I would invite him to meet my Dad. I would invite him to meet my women. I would invite him to meet my co-workers and my boss. Why? Because he’s not a sperg or an idiot.

It’s why I’ve had Roman (@opiumtales2 on Twitter) and his wife in my house. They are both awesome and down-to-earth people. My only regret with meeting Roman and his wife is that they had to catch an early flight the next day. I would have loved to talk with them and hang out with them much longer than I did.

I could say the same for each and every person that I’ve met off of Twitter and invited them into my home. My time spent with them was far too short.

At any time during our interactions, we never talked about who we voted for or didn’t, what religious affiliations we belonged to or didn’t, and we certainly didn’t discuss our vaccination statuses.

Same with the women I have met over the last couple of years. Vaccination status never even came up. Some of those women I now know what their status is or isn’t and they know mine. But that came down the road after many dates. Does their status bother me? No. Does mine bother them? Again, no.

All I can think when I see someone tweet what Pearly did, is this:

“What kind of person says that in real life?”

That’s how I deal with accounts on Twitter now. They say whatever they choose to say, and I ask myself, “What kind of person would say that in real life?” And then I act accordingly.

Some people I will never meet in real life. Our online relationship is enough.

Some people I would meet in a public place, like a bar, or a coffee shop. I would have a drink or two or ten with them. I would even go out to a restaurant and have a meal with them, but I would never invite them to my home. I would never invite them to meet my Dad, my women, my co-workers, or my boss.

And then there’s some people that I would invite into my home. I would invite them to meet my Dad. I would invite them to meet my women. I would invite them to meet my co-workers and my boss.

I’ve had enough experience with social media to now realize that how the great majority of people act online is how they act in real life. I’ve had plenty of disappointments as well as pleasures in meeting those that I have met. Every time I meet someone new, it adds to my experience. And it keeps confirming my experience.

“Who would say that in real life?” “What kind of a person would say that in real life?”

Those are the questions that I ask myself, and in my opinion, those are the questions you should be asking yourself when you deal with someone online and are considering meeting them in real life.

And to those of you who may be wondering:

My religious affiliation, my political status, and my vaccination status are none of your business.