Dear Daily World readers, friends, foes, and those who exclusively communicate through meme replies and all-caps comments — hello again.
I’ve been away. Not away in a “finding myself on a windswept beach staring meaningfully into the horizon” kind of way, but away in the far less glamorous sense of working a full-time job. The kind that pays bills and steals your daylight hours, leaving very little time to write lovingly sarcastic columns for a loyal fan base and an equally loyal group of people who only read my work to see if they’re mentioned.
But I’m back now, and judging by the state of the internet, Ocean Shores decided to absolutely lose its collective mind while I was gone.
So let’s start where every peaceful conversation goes to die: the Epstein files. Or the discussion of them. Or the rumors about them. Or the reaction videos reacting to reactions of other reactions. Suddenly, everyone in Ocean Shores — online anyway — has been forced into an uncomfortable moment of self-reflection, where they must consider whether continuing to support a particular political figure also means mentally tap-dancing around allegations of pedophilia, rape, and some of the darkest crimes imaginable.
This has produced comment threads that feel less like discussion and more like group therapy conducted by people who refuse to make eye contact with reality. There’s a lot of heavy moral gymnastics happening right now. You can practically hear the joints popping as people twist themselves into shapes that would impress Cirque du Soleil, all in the name of explaining how yes, these acts are horrifying, but also somehow not disqualifying if you squint hard enough and change the subject to gas prices.
If you find yourself starting a sentence with “I don’t condone it, but …,” it may be time to stop typing, set the phone down, and have a long talk with whatever part of your soul is currently buffering.
As if that weren’t enough, the city of Ocean Shores has also dared to mention the possibility of a town hall regarding the city’s stance on being — or not being — a sanctuary city. This single suggestion lit Facebook on fire faster than a beach bonfire during a burn ban.
People who haven’t attended a city meeting in decades are suddenly very invested in civic engagement. Folks who normally can’t find City Hall without GPS are now experts in federal immigration law, municipal authority, and the phrase “do your research,” which of course means “watch the same three videos I did.”
And then came the most fascinating evolution of all: the transformation of long-time keyboard warriors into champions of civility. Some of the loudest voices now calling for peace, accountability, and respectful dialogue are the same ones who have spent years hurling accusations, insults, and rhetorical grenades from behind a screen.
Now they’re stepping up to the microphone, speaking solemnly about healing and unity, hoping we all forget the digital trail of flaming poo they left behind. Hypocrisy? I’ll let you decide. But it does take a special kind of confidence to demand calm after you’ve spent years yelling “fire” in a crowded comment section.
Ocean Shores, for all its charm, is a small town with a very large online personality. Every national controversy eventually washes up here like driftwood, where it’s picked apart, argued over, and occasionally used to hit someone else over the head.
Somewhere between the outrage, the town halls, and the moral grandstanding, it might be worth remembering that people are allowed to change their minds, allowed to admit they were wrong, and allowed — miraculously — to log off and interact with actual human beings who exist outside of profile photos and angry emojis.
The ocean will still be here tomorrow. The sand will still get in your shoes. And Facebook will still be mad about something new by lunchtime. As always, dear readers — keep your clams clean.
