I've been down with a cold, shuffling around the house coughing, blowing my nose, watching movies, with no energy for much else. The past couple of nights, to entertain myself, I discovered what I call joy scrolling, watching all sorts of non-political video shorts and having a great time with them. I mean, how satisfying it is to watch bullies, karens, and porch pirates get their just desserts or to see cops crack up as they are being scolded by sassy old ladies.
There are, of course, a lot of animal videos: dogs protecting their human babies from falling bookcases, fires, swimming pools, and ledges; both dogs and cats fighting off wild animals (it's exciting to watch a domestic cat scare off a bear); children reacting to being given a puppy; cats reacting to a fright. It surprised me how many sequences there are of wild animals (panthers, bears, foxes, deer, even a bald eagle) approaching a human to ask for help for an injured mate or young one. Naturally those always end up with a bond developing between the animal and its human.
Some of my favorites have been acts of kindness from stranger to stranger. It's so heartwarming to see people reach out to one another. These remind me never to pass up a chance to reach out a hand to someone who clearly needs one. Speaking of which, apparently there is a signal a woman can make while walking in public if she is being controlled or trafficked by a man: gently reach out and swipe the hand or thigh of a passing stranger, then put that free hand (the other usually gripped by the man) behind the back and curl/uncurl/curl the fingers as though in greeting. If ever you see that, help her.
I understand that some of the videos are setups, and in this time of realistic AI images one can't always trust what one is shown. For example, there is a gripping video of 3 buffaloes of some kind (not American bison) running alongside a big rig, bumping into it as though to signal it to stop. The truck does finally stop before crossing a bridge, and a moment later the bridge blows up. Pretty cool until I stopped to think: Who is taking that video and where are they that they have such a vantage point? That one is likely AI generated, but still fun to watch.
A couple of my favorites:
A cop's bodycam revealing him hassling a quiet older Black man in a laundromat, insisting the man reveal what he is holding in a bag. The man finally stands up and pulls out a judge's robe. Boy oh boy, did that cop's tone of voice change immediately to one of contrition. I just hope he remembers that moment and reassesses his prejudices.
And the most dramatic of all: A young man, captured by a street security camera, walking along a sidewalk when he sees a baby falling from a 5 story balcony. He somehow manages to catch the baby. Hero, right? Well, the story doesn't end there. The mother of the baby takes him to court for what she calls "reckless rescue"! Sues him for $500,000. Fortunately, the judge reprimands the mother harshly, dismisses the case, and orders her to issue a formal apology and pay the young man a hefty sum.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zaORbAbwar0
It's true the baby suffered broken bones from the impact of the fall. Perhaps the mother is panicked because if she doesn't have someone to blame, she is going to be faced with huge medical bills. Perhaps, in her mind, it would have been better (ie. cheaper) for the baby to die rather to have to go through surgeries and rehabilitation. Perhaps, who knows, she didn't want the baby and actually let it fall, and now instead of being freed is stuck with a broken baby. That, we'll never know.
I realize I need to stop this late night scrolling because it usually keep me up until 3am or so, and then I still wake up at my usual 5:30 or 6. My days of sleeping in appear to be behind me. But I have fully enjoyed these nights of entertaining myself with things going on in the world that I otherwise have no access to. So, fatigued? Yes. Regretful? Absolutely not.
