Everyone has a story

It's true, what REM used to say, that "Everybody hurts." The thing is, you never know quite how much.

There was a news story on CoasterBuzz today about a dude who climbed a roller coaster and intended to jump off. Fortunately, he was snagged before he could do it. Some jokes were made, and several people commented about how the jokes were insensitive at best, and offensive at worst. Several members talked about their depression, thoughts of suicide, and one even described the hell his life has been since losing his son to a drunk driver. You never really know how much shit a person has had to endure.

You'd think that people would be more sensitive to this fact, but they're not. I'm certainly no better than anyone else (though my purest distaste is for people who exemplify illiteracy via the Internet). Some people endure more shit than others. Sometimes it's for catastrophic life events, sometimes it's for the color of their skin or sexual orientation. Sometimes it's a painful divorce.

I suppose we could all be better people if we stop to understand that everyone has a story that has shaped who they are.