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In the last three or four years, I made it a point to maintain a low-profile and became somewhat unforthcoming when in the office. I try as much not to draw any unwanted attention to myself in any way. If I could go a day unnoticed, I’d actually prefer that.

I don’t participate in petty cubicle fights or engage in juicy gossips simply because I don’t want to get involved. I go to work and clock out not a minute over 3PM—with little or almost no interaction with other people. Almost always I also keep my thoughts to myself, especially my frustrations and annoyances. Call it midlife whims if you want.

Back then I have an active and very public social media accounts. I was very outspoken; I say what’s on my mind just how I’d say it IRL. It got me in trouble many times, as some people made a big deal out of it like I am the only one who has ever ranted or posted my thoughts online.

Even some of my harmless puns became an issue. There was this one time I tweeted about how—I humorously said—while giving an exam to an Arab-speaking applicant, found myself humming the Cure song “Killing an Arab”. Obviously, I was trying to be funny, and anyone with intellectual acuity won’t interpret it as me wanting to murder the applicant.

Before I know it, someone screengrabbed that tweet and sent it to Human Resources.

So yeah, I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve learned that some people will not get my humor and dry wit because they’re either stupid or probably just too young for my pop culture references. I’ve learned that just like lovelife, exes and family squabbles, I shouldn’t be discussing anything that’s work-related online.

I’ve learned to quit ranting in public not only because nobody actually cares about what I feel, but more because there are lurkers who are just waiting for me to make a mistake.

I stopped posting unhinged rants and avoided sharing political and personal views on Facebook because there will always be one or two likely to be offended by it.

Besides, my family is on Facebook, so go figure.

I have archived my old blog, where I was once raw, brutally honest, candid and unfiltered because some people advised that I tone it down just so I won’t get scrutinized.

I noticed how I hardly talk about people in this blog. If I do, I don’t even name names. Do you know how hard it is to make a narrative and not even mention the name of the person who is the subject of my narrative? But I adjusted. I adjusted for those who are so dull-witted that I must self-calibrate. It took me a lot not to write about my thoughts for my own self-preservation.

But hell, my Twitter account is MINE. It is the only medium where I could blow off steam. 

Twitter is where I rant, curse, spew expletives, lambaste and share my most mundane to my most profound of thoughts. It is where I don’t have to sift my words and would express it as it is. It is where I could say something with no reservations. If not for Twitter, I might not be able to prevent an actual meltdown, which is ain’t pretty (ask anyone who saw me get really angry).

This is the very reason why my Twitter account is private as I am aware that my “realness” isn’t for everyone.

I have trimmed down my followers to the ones I trust (while the rest are mostly inactive and tweeps who give zero fucks). I have not added any supervisors or bosses for obvious reasons. Among my social media accounts, it’s the one I have a very small following because I chose it that way. It is where I can put my guard down because if I say something there—it is not to demean and destroy, but more just to get the load off my chest.

Now if one screenshots a tweet from a private account and deem it “inappropriate” and sends it to other people—isn’t that being fucking ironic?

We have social media accounts, and yes—like it or not, we do talk about a lot of things at times including work. But also consider that the owner of the account has already done everything to remain responsible by restricting her tweets hopefully to control who can see the content.

If one went as far as getting a screenshot and then sending it to another person and then self-righteously stating that the tweet is “inappropriate”—then how about the fact that you didn’t respect the privacy of my account? It is not publicly-available and it cannot be viewed by anyone enough to say that it is potentially harmful to whoever or whatever.

Don’t start telling me how a private tweet can ruin someone, when other people outside my Twitter followers won’t even know about it if you haven’t spread it complete with screenshot to boot. If people talk about it, it’s not me who caused tongues to wag. 

I have less than 10 people following me on Twitter who works in the same company which I now all removed because I don’t know who to trust anymore.

Yeah, I guess I was so trusting and complacent for posting a satirical tweet without realizing that someone in my list can use it against me.

So I say this: You who have lots of time in your hands to screenshot my tweet 49 minutes after it was posted and sent it to whoever—think long and hard if what you did is right and if your intentions were good.

You were in my followers list for a reason (or maybe at least for that I was to blame because I trusted you). I post random tweets and occasional rants without even naming the person involved because I was confident that people who read it—being that I choose who I allow to follow me—will know how to take it. Again, obviously, that didn't apply to you. 

You know very well that disclosing a private tweet, which by the way contains no threat or anything that can be considered harmful or derogatory to anyone, other than putting me in a negative light, is the real issue here.

Before you even start believing that you did the right thing, examine your intent.