We all have that friend who pollutes our Facebook or Instagram feed. Now the actual toxic waste they spill might differ, but whether it's cringy boomer comics or their very, very amateur nature photos, even the most mundane posts can become poisonous in huge amounts.
I usually try to distance myself from these people without actually confronting them; I unfollow them. But Michael James Schneider, a writer and artist living in Portland, Oregon, has found a more creative way to deal with them.
When he got fed up with the ridiculous amounts of balloons popping up on his social media feeds, Michael decided to point out how ridiculous they can be by becoming part of the cult.
"I try to make commentary about, or poke fun at, social media. The balloons were a social media trope often used in bridal showers and gender reveals, so they were a natural progression of that idea. I love the contrast of profound, funny, or challenging quotes spelled in silly balloons. And since another common cliche is endless selfies, I tend to put myself in most of the photos. They often make people cringe, but the cringe is the point," Michael told Bored Panda.
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The artist usually gets the phrases from the Internet. "I source them online, most of the quotes are curated from other, far wiser people, and me and my friend slash assistant, Andrew Jankowski, try to attribute them as accurately as possible." Michael is also asking people who repost his art to please do their best to credit the people who originally said these phrases too.
Thank you. I needed this today. I was just having this discussion with friends yesterday. I always see the good in people, and often that view hurts me deeply. What is wrong with me? It's like I can't learn.
Absolutely nothing wrong with you!! Quite the opposite ;)
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My father's always told me, "If you have a soft heart, you need to have a hard backside".
❤️ Love love LOVE THIS!! There’s such a toxic culture of “hardness” and “stoicism” (not the classical stoicism). It seems to original in toxic masculinity. The “attack first, feel never”, antipathetic, invulnerability, and an obsession with unnecessary sarcasm and love of cringiness... The internet seems to have an egregious version of this culture because it’s dominated by anonymous cowards who use trolling and attacks on others to pump up their own frail or wounded egos.
I want to upvote this a million times! I still fight for the fact that I want to be a decent human at work and that this should not be at the expense of career and if it is, so be it. So far, I am still going!
I swear this is my subconscious directing me to things I need to read. I was contemplating starting a discussion literally 10 seconds ago with a friend, asking them if maybe... I should just be a cold-hearted, inconsiderate jerk...because it seems that those are the people who get all the goods, all the friends... are lauded for their "admirable alpha-ness", while I'm called naive, or stupid...
I hear you. But you and I and everyone else identifying with this knows: we could not do this and live with ourselves. We have something they will never have. That is, integrity, kindness, the ability to love and be loved, true friends, a heart that feels. These are worth so much more than goods, fair weather friends, money, and the applause of others. This is hard to keep in mind. Believe me, I know.
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"Heaving a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness" - Katherine Henson
Words aside, another important part of each photo is its background. "One of my favorite things to do is spot a brightly colored wall when riding my bike in Portland, and make a mental note to visit it later," Michael explained his location scouting. "I choose colorful walls based on what direction they're facing (for lighting reasons), how public they are (so that I can set them up subtlety), and how textured the wall is (since very textured walls won't hold the type of tape I use)."
After the photoshoot is over, the balloons go back to Michael's basement, waiting to be used for the next shoot. The artist said these types of air-filled Mylar balloons aren't great for the environment, so he discourages people from buying them if their intention is to throw them away after use. "I reuse them from shoot to shoot and I have an alphabet in each color. I sometimes choose to use different colors if I’m out of a letter, rather than purchase more, and then I photoshop the colors to match afterwards."
Both statements are true. The morbidly obese pathological lying vindictive narcissistic imbecile with the emotional maturity of a toddler (AKA tRump) is simply a horrible, horrible person.
Michael has been trying to make it as a creative ever since he put his 20-year experience in retail management on pause. He paints, directs, writes, is an amateur interior designer, and has done theatrical set and production design. "I don’t claim to have the answers for anyone, least of all myself, but I’m having fun on the journey. Or at least pretending to on social media."
omg, litterlly the first time I saw the top comment is with negative votes. Such a hard theme to make an opinion.
The only one you can change is yourself - by making different choices and realizing that how we react to what life serves us is often not by choice but by lazy habit.
Um… does it still count when I instinctively shrink from fear, embarrassment, or scolding?
"Don't try to mend a broken heart with the same person who broke it." - Steven Ailchison
Ah yes. I too enjoy staring lovingly at disembodied hearts. XD jk why is that there?
This is a little all-or-nothing kind of statement, but I think here he is trying to say something about complacency. Do you stay silent when your partner makes comments or micro-aggressions that are homophobic? An ally ought to try to open a dialogue with their partner to find why they say things or the root of their misunderstanding, etc.
A lot of these are really good....others are just 'edgy' or plain gatekeeping behavior...
Yeah, a second read revealed some of them as condescending, imo.
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I applaud his message; but couldn't he use something that's a bit more environmentally friendly? or maybe edible? :p
Yes. Is he a licensed therapist or mental health worker? No? No one likes unsolicited advice.
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Gee, more c**p that will end up in our oceans :( The messages aren't bad, the method is.
You're assuming he throws them away. I think you should check that assumption.
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These are so true...until they contradict each other by implying That his political and social views are Fact rather than opinion.
Bigotry is bad, empathy is good. Taking care of yourself and others is good, putting people down is bad...These messages are factual and apolitical. Opinion is more like "Star Wars is better than Star Trek". A political message is more like "tax cuts for the wealthy are good for the economy".
Load More Replies... Seeing this "inspirational" things on many fb walls.People think they are deep becuase they are posting some quotes.
What does "gatekeeping" mean? I haven't heard that word used in this context before.
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I was interested in reading his series. Until he tossed in politics. Lost interest, and respect.
Wait... spelling something out with balloons bought at your local supermarket or party store makes you an artist?
I really didn't like a lot of these. Many of them seem disrespectful of where people actually are in their lives. I really detest sayings like "even if you're scared, just do it." That option isn't necessarily open to everyone. It's great if you want to push yourself to overcome fears, or old habits, etc, but what I'm saying is that not everyone can do it, or do it right now. Don't be intolerant of people's different ability to cope. And I really disagree with the idea that people are responsible for their partner's views. They are not joined at the hip. A person who's involved with a bigot can set limits, such as "if you're going to express those attitudes, you can't hang out with my friends." I suspect that if someone I was dating had bigoted views, it would corrode the relationship and I'd probably end up wanting to leave. But that's my business.* *Hypothetical - I don't actually have a partner right now.
Responding to myself because I got cut off for talking too much. :) I just wanted to add that some of these sayings were good. I didn't mean to be totally negative.
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I start disliking this site. They clearly chose a side. Very politically correct. Ugh.
Offend? No. Concern? Yes. Why? Because some of them are basically Yodaisms. They’re not wisdom. They’re overly simplistic and easily used in contexts where they would be harmful.
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A lot of these are really good....others are just 'edgy' or plain gatekeeping behavior...
Yeah, a second read revealed some of them as condescending, imo.
Load More Replies... I applaud his message; but couldn't he use something that's a bit more environmentally friendly? or maybe edible? :p
Yes. Is he a licensed therapist or mental health worker? No? No one likes unsolicited advice.
Load More Replies... Gee, more c**p that will end up in our oceans :( The messages aren't bad, the method is.
You're assuming he throws them away. I think you should check that assumption.
Load More Replies... These are so true...until they contradict each other by implying That his political and social views are Fact rather than opinion.
Bigotry is bad, empathy is good. Taking care of yourself and others is good, putting people down is bad...These messages are factual and apolitical. Opinion is more like "Star Wars is better than Star Trek". A political message is more like "tax cuts for the wealthy are good for the economy".
Load More Replies... Seeing this "inspirational" things on many fb walls.People think they are deep becuase they are posting some quotes.
What does "gatekeeping" mean? I haven't heard that word used in this context before.
Load More Replies... I was interested in reading his series. Until he tossed in politics. Lost interest, and respect.
Wait... spelling something out with balloons bought at your local supermarket or party store makes you an artist?
I really didn't like a lot of these. Many of them seem disrespectful of where people actually are in their lives. I really detest sayings like "even if you're scared, just do it." That option isn't necessarily open to everyone. It's great if you want to push yourself to overcome fears, or old habits, etc, but what I'm saying is that not everyone can do it, or do it right now. Don't be intolerant of people's different ability to cope. And I really disagree with the idea that people are responsible for their partner's views. They are not joined at the hip. A person who's involved with a bigot can set limits, such as "if you're going to express those attitudes, you can't hang out with my friends." I suspect that if someone I was dating had bigoted views, it would corrode the relationship and I'd probably end up wanting to leave. But that's my business.* *Hypothetical - I don't actually have a partner right now.
Responding to myself because I got cut off for talking too much. :) I just wanted to add that some of these sayings were good. I didn't mean to be totally negative.
Load More Replies... I start disliking this site. They clearly chose a side. Very politically correct. Ugh.
Offend? No. Concern? Yes. Why? Because some of them are basically Yodaisms. They’re not wisdom. They’re overly simplistic and easily used in contexts where they would be harmful.
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