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Boise Attorney Doxes Police Officer

August 1, 2021 By Elaine Ambrose

August 1, 2021

Definition of Dox: to publicly identify or publish private information about someone especially as a form of punishment or revenge

A Boise police officer recently took a break in the middle of a busy 10-hour shift to grab a sandwich. Apparently, the officer wasn’t wearing a mask, and Jane Gordon, a personal injury lawyer from Boise, saw the officer and became so enraged she took to Twitter to inform the world of the officer’s egregious behavior. She also named the officer and tagged the mayor’s office and the Boise Police Department.

The Boise mayor recently reinstated a face-covering requirement at all indoor city facilities. The sandwich shop wasn’t a city facility, but Jane Gordon felt compelled to criticize and publicly shame the officer because he works for the city.

I believe we have a year remaining to exercise our freedom of speech, so I posted a response stating my opinion:

@AmbroseElaine replying to @JanesAmerica, @BoisePD, @CityOfBoise

“Thanks to Officer (name removed) for performing a stressful, thankless job in a reality show full of Karens.”

(Definition of Karen: An obnoxious, angry, entitled middle-aged white woman who uses her privilege to get her way or publicly criticize other people’s behaviors)

I expected vitriol from the unhinged losers who use Saul Alinsky’s book Rules for Radicals as a playbook for progressive propaganda. Their most effective weapon is to use ridicule through doxing, intimidation, or bullying to silence or condemn opposition. I wasn’t disappointed. Here are a few of the responses to my opinion.

Jane @JanesAmerica replied:

“I don’t think getting a sandwich is very stressful. And if it is, maybe you shouldn’t be a cop.”

My response to Jane: I’ve encountered personal injury attorneys and law enforcement officers. I’ll take the cops any day.

Criysto @criysto replied:

“Girly.. you’re a humor author?”

My response to Criysto from Las Vegas: Yes, I am. Two of my humorous books were chosen for finalist for ForeWord Book of the Year for Humor, another book was the First Place Winner for Humor from the Independent Press Book Awards program, and another book won the Silver Medal for Humor from the Independent Publishers Awards program. I won three humor writing competitions from the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and won humor writing awards from BlogHer and from the Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop. Several humorous essays on the Huffington Post went viral, including one that became one of the 10 most-read essays in the history of the Huffington Post. You seem crabby, so I should send you some of my funny books.

Yeti of @Yeti_Abides replied:

“Elaine- is your bootlicking not enough thanks for the slave catchers of Boise?”

My response to Yeti, a “professional entertainer, live event host, and aspiring comedian” in Boise: No, I don’t lick boots, but I wore out plenty of work boots while growing up on a farm. I waded through a lot of bullshit, and I’ll add yours to the pile.

I’m really a funny grandmother trying to stay alive in a hostile world. I will continue to support and respect law enforcement, and I’ll continue to write humor. In my next story, the nasty characters will be named Jane, Criysto, and Yeti.

The Domestic Humorist Challenge

June 17, 2017 By Elaine Ambrose

Last November, social media exploded into a regurgitated cesspool of vicious vitriol oozing like a toxic stew of vomit. It was worse than my first date in college. I attempted to balance the negativity by posting at least one humorous or positive meme every day, supplementing with witty blog posts. After seven months and more than 200 daily memes, I’m done. Readers are on their own.

I hope the memes have caused a few smiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest. My Instagram account was hacked and deleted, but I still have the other accounts. Before I totter off to the sweet solitude of writing, I’d like to offer The Domestic Humorist Challenge, as opposed to the popular but irritating and dangerous Domestic Terrorist Wanabe collection of reckless writers on social media.

In my opinion, some of the despicable comments border on domestic terrorism and anarchy. This post came through my Facebook page last week:

From a woman named LauralLynn writing about President Trump: “I have stayed away from the news, in hopes they will just throw his ass to the wolves…literally, throw his ass into a cage of wild wolves and let them feast.” She added a smiling face for accent.

In my opinion, such a comment only fuels the flames of contempt and chaos. The remark did nothing to promote a positive attitude of comradery and community that is needed to strengthen the foundation of a civilized society. With every snarling comment, we’re getting closer to living in the final sequel of the Mad Max movies.

mad max mel gibson.jpg — Max with the Feral Child

(Interesting trivia: To prove that riveting dialogue wasn’t a key component in Mad Max 2 – The Road Warrior, Max, played by actor Mel Gibson, only has 16 lines of dialogue, and his first line wasn’t spoken until 11 minutes into the film.)

The Domestic Humorist Challenge. To neutralize the eruption of domestic terrorists on social media, I’m offering the Domestic Humorist Challenge. It’s more fun, and no one gets shot. The challenge comes without multi-level marketing pitches, selfie portraits, or obligations to forward a message or suffer from infected boils on your butt.

Here are the suggested rules:

Review the messages you’ve written and liked during the past few months, and note the balance between complaints and praise.
For the next week, don’t post, like, or forward any negative comments on your public social media accounts. This may require opening a private snark account with you as the only recipient.
Write and post positive or humorous remarks that add value to readers and contribute to constructive action. Sneak in some gratitude. Just try it, ye of little faith.
Block or unfriend those who continue to vomit vicious words and memes on Facebook and Twitter. Did a nasty meme or screaming stranger ever change your opinion about anything?
At the end of the week, evaluate your mood. The goal of this challenge is for you to feel better about what you’ve written and for more people to contribute something positive or funny. If you relapse and have a shaking desire to post several hostile messages about anything (including politicians, kale salads, or feral children), go back to Step 1.

Some serious facts: The US Patriot Act defines domestic terrorism as the result of a US citizen attempting to do something that is dangerous to human life in our country. The government has identified at least 15 domestic terrorist organizations and that doesn’t include individuals. A website regularly records incidents of domestic terrorist attacks, going back to the assassination of President Lincoln in 1865 and updated this week with the attempted murders of Republican lawmakers in Alexandria, Virginia.

With that much hostility, it’s no wonder we’re all crabby and slightly paranoid. We’re living in a Greek Tragedy that only Shakespeare could appreciate. It’s time to fight back (in a non-threatening way) and become a Domestic Humorist. Who wants to play?

Finally, here are a few of my favorite memes from the past 200 days:

My Friends were Possessed after the Election

January 25, 2017 By Elaine Ambrose

My colorful, creative collection of friends consists of liberals, conservatives, assorted thespians, some town criers, recovering journalists, and a few agnostics. I enjoy our online conversations, and we usually resolve any issues with a virtual toast of wine and some salacious jokes. But after the national presidential election, all hell broke loose on social media when anyone commented for or against the results. Several times, I had to scrape the manure off my eyeballs and go take a shower.

The rancorous election turned some of my funny, positive, middle-aged friends and associates into hate-spewing demons who threatened eternal damnation to anyone with an opposing opinion. Because I’m too old and chubby to fight, I decided to offer some innocuous images that made social media popular: photos of funny animals. Just for extra fun, I added exact quotes from some of the more vitriolic comments. I didn’t include the profane remarks because we’ve all seen them and choose not to see them again.

The most popular demand was, “Unfriend me now!” I assume the friend had the power to quietly unfriend me, but it was more dramatic to make a statement on the Internet. I think this funny horse doesn’t care, and neither do I.

Sometimes the comments are ugly and intended to hurt. My friend received this retort on Facebook after she dared to post a non-threatening remark. She is a sweet, funny grandmother and couldn’t understand why anyone would be so mean. Bless her heart.

Frankly, some of us are getting tired of the unjustified and untrue name-calling. Just look at this cuddly little hamster. She just wants to play and wiggle. Be like that.

Another friend received this “Shame on you!!!!” comment on her Facebook page. She’s the one who received the most exclamation marks of all the retorts because people were blatantly mad about her opinions. This laughing bulldog thinks humans are weird.

I received a message instructing me not to get smug after I wrote something positive and negative about each candidate. My accused smugness could have been applied to either or neither. It was all too confusing.

This exaggerated message was sent to my friend, the sweet grandmother. She didn’t know how she could possibly torture anyone, let alone dismantle their family. She decided to delete her post and go back to sharing photographs of flowers and kittens. She wonders how things got so offensive. Her left eye is still twitching.

After the dust settles and we all go back to breathing without exhaling steam, we can tiptoe back onto social media and be midlife friends again. I miss our online chats about empty nests, full schedules, tight budgets, and loose skin. We’ll get more involved in the political process so we can endorse better candidates in the future, and we’ll work together to help instead of hurt each other. I want to laugh again. We can’t allow the animals to have all the fun.

The Good Morning Project

July 11, 2015 By Elaine Ambrose

(Published on The Huffington Post June 1, 2015)

My acquaintance was bullied on social media, and that experience prompted an idea that could encourage others to make a positive difference while challenging the vile cesspool of cruel trolls who infest the Internet. Let’s call it the “Good Morning Project.”

Last year at a writer’s conference, I was introduced to a vivacious, witty, and successful writer. Michele and I shared the stage during a stand-up comedy night, and saw each other briefly during the rest of the event. Later we became friends on Facebook and followed each other’s comments. I admired her personality and talents, and we became associates from across the country.

Recently she was verbally attacked through social media by a former acquaintance who called her vile names and wrote derogatory accusations about her. She was devastated, and she wrote about her bewilderment and pain. I felt her anguish and wanted to help but our homes were too far apart to meet and share a conversation. So I greeted her every morning on Facebook.

“Good Morning, Michele,” I wrote. “I think you’re wonderful.”

She replied with gratitude, and that started the daily exchange of messages.

I thought of her every morning as I sat to read my emails. I remembered some previous messages she had published through her Facebook posts, so I included them to personalize the next good morning message. After the third morning, she caught on to what I was doing. Again, she expressed her thanks.

The morning communications occurred for several days and became a habit. I would begin my day thinking about her and about what I could say to be positive. The entire action took less than five minutes but provided affirmative validation for both of us.

My mother’s generation of women visited and supported each other through regular conversations over coffee or over the backyard fence. A generation later, women my age moved into the work force and rarely had time for close friendships because we were too busy balancing work, families, and homes. The Internet was new to us, and we were justified in being cautious about online exchanges.

Now all ages use social media to communicate, and an online presence is an important part of our daily professional and personal lives. However, just as the Internet can become the supportive and friendly coffee klatch of yesterday, it also contains a dark side that brings out the worst of society. The anonymity gives nasty, insecure, and pathetic users the access and ability to publicly threaten, criticize, and hurt others without fear of consequence or reprisal. Online comment sections are becoming a sewer attraction for those I call Drive-by Bullies.

You can help alleviate some of the damage caused by trolls by participating in your own “Good Morning Project.” Select a random name from your list of social media contacts and send a quick, personalized message to her or him in the morning. Continue for a few days and note how the practice improves your attitude, too. Monitor feedback and stop the messages if you think the other person doesn’t need or appreciate them. Select another name and continue the brief exchange.

There are other sites that offer the same service, but the messages are generic and don’t offer a personalized greeting. Positive, significant words enhance the connection between two people, and through the proper use of technology, we can retain our humanity and strengthen important friendships. Good Morning, Michele.

Midlife Cabernet: My 50-Pound Speed Bump

April 21, 2014 By Elaine Ambrose

Do you run out of the door while texting and juggling a loaded alligator bag the size of a real alligator? Do you leave on a relaxing vacation and take a laptop computer, an IPad, and a cell phone and all the necessary electronic chargers that are more important than a change of underwear? Are you so distracted that you haven’t noticed that it’s not July anymore?

Then you’ll understand why I finally decided to (temporarily) pull the multiple plugs on my electronic taskmasters. My first clue was when I realized the hairs on my chin were long enough to braid because I hadn’t found the time to pluck them.

I couldn’t go an hour without checking various email and social media sites, sometimes at stop lights. I desperately need some kind of therapy, and I found the perfect remedy. I unplugged with the help of a 50-pound, six-year-old speed bump: my darling granddaughter I’ll call Pumpkin.

Pumpkin was born in Hawaii and the native term for grandmother is Tutu, so that is what all my grandchildren call me. Pumpkin and I were dashing about on one of our play dates when she stopped short, put her hands on her hips, and loudly proclaimed: “Tutu. Slow down!”

And so I did.

I looked at this darling little wonder who all too soon would be off to explore the world and not have time for a disheveled grandmother. Then I turned off the cell phone and announced that we were off the clock. Suddenly, the pace was less frantic and my eye stopped twitching.

We were close to a craft store so decided to go inside and explore. Pumpkin wanted to create a flower arrangement for her mother, my daughter. I watched as she took thirty minutes to select the flowers, a purple vase, put back the flowers and select different flowers, choose just the right ribbon, return and pick her original selection of flowers and arrange them gently in the order of the colors in a rainbow. Finally, she was satisfied with her creation.

By then, I was about to suggest that we just get a generic gift card, but I noticed her happy expression as she clutched her creative mommy bouquet. This delightful speed bump caused me to slow down, and I’m grateful.

I survived many decades without a computer, cell phone, or Ipad. My new goal is to limit their use to a few hours in the morning, unless I’m writing. My 50-pound therapist taught me that it’s time to unplug and hug.

Today’s blog is fueled by a 2008 Pepper Bridge Cabernet Sauvignon from Walla Walla Valley. This bold wine costs more than a pair of shoes, so weigh your priorities and wait for a sale on shoes.

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