It shouldn't have happened

Tonight I did something that I am very ashamed of.  For the first time in forever, I lost complete control of my temper.   For as long as I can remember, it has always been told to speak my mind and stand by what was said.

Yesterday, one simple comment on facebook was twisted to make something said into an accusation.  It was never meant in that context, but there it was.  I had a friend I wanted to protect, and was going to try and politely give an outside point of view.  The response not only came from one person but two people and it was ugly.   Now it was game on.

I did something that I never do.  I went head to head with my best friend's step sister and her lover.   At first I was trying to keep the comments civil.  There has been a few nasty rumors going around and as always everyone has and is entitled to an opinion.  Right or wrong, for better or for worse...everyone has one.

So, the gauntlet was thrown and after all that I have seen my friend go through, I became overly self-rightous  and set about to prove my point.  After all that has been going on, I felt she didn't need to be publicly treated the way she was.  From her past to her present, she has had to deal with a lot more than anyone else I know and she does it as best as she can and with very little complaint.

Soon after, the fight was on.  Words were twisted, accusations where thrown.  Even though I kept mine curse word free and tried not to sink into high school mentality, it happened.  After 16 posts between the 3 of us, the whole point of the conversation was lost.   It was now 3 people bickering about who loved her the most.
In the end, she became the referree telling us to break it up.   Instead of helping, which was the original intent, I ended up making things worse.

No matter what, I should have kept my cool and let it go.  I should have walked away and let the whole thing go, but I couldn't.  There is no reason or explanation that makes what was done right.  There was no cause to create conflict.  So, I cry tears of remorse, and after the last one has fallen, I will remember next time to watch my temper, hold my tongue, whatever it takes not to put anyone in the same position as I put my best friend in tonight.  

The worse thing about social networking is that it is all out in the public.  Even if the posts are deleted and the comments and people are blocked, at least 1 person has read them and someone might have already been hurt.  I wish I could take it all back and my God I am so ashamed at what I have done!