Time to get real.
Something has been irking me and whenever this happens of course, I have to burden you all with my problems. A sentiment about human nature that has stuck with me for a long time is the idea that it is a fallacy to believe humans act rationally 100% of the time. There are a lot of external factors that can lead to people exhibiting inconsistent or strange behaviour. However this doesn't absolve us of all responsibility when we engage in this conduct and we owe it to ourselves to constantly analyse and rationalise acting the way we do.
We all have our own sense of morality and part of that is trying our best to ensure our actions align with our values. I believe if we have a value system then this shouldn't waiver no matter the circumstances. I understand that in extreme cases we may have to compromise our morals but for the most part we should stand by our convictions. For example, if I'm a vegetarian and I go somewhere with little to no vegetarian options, I'm not then going to eat meat. Instead I'd probably go hungry for a few hours then eat when suitable to do so. But of course if we take this to the extreme, for example, I haven't eaten in a week and the only thing to curb my hunger is a steak then of course you can forgive that person for compromising their values. Does that make sense?
But the very specific instance I want to talk about in this post is how quick people abdicate their own beliefs because emotions are running high or they're dealing with someone they don't like. One thing I absolutely hate is using someones appearance as a way to attack or criticise them. Especially when it has nothing to do with the situation. I think the majority of us would say it's not okay to judge someone based on their appearance, specifically race, gender, religion etc. But you'd be surprised how quick this goes out the window when people are dealing with someone they have an issue with.
Our values shouldn't only be kept intact when they're convenient for us. And I am seeing all this rhetoric on social media about how we all need to be kinder to each other and what not but the same people echoing these sentiments would have no problem berating someone's genitalia, fat-shaming someone or labelling someone a racial slur if the situation arose. It bothers me that some people lack so much self awareness that they can't recognise their own hypocrisy. And when you get people blasting someone for acting in a particular way then you engage in the exact same behaviour towards them, it just doesn't make much sense.
And don't get me wrong, we all say things we don't mean but if your first reaction to any kind of conflict is to automatically attack someone's appearance then maybe you need to re-evaluate your morals. You're a questionable person anyway if you want to speak negatively on someone's appearance in a vindictive manner but it's even worse to claim to be someone who knows that behaviour is wrong and doesn't engage in it, to only then use it as your first line of defence. If you don't like what someone is saying then respond to that. What they look like should rarely be a factor in how you respond.
Sexism, racism any kind of "ism" should never be okay regardless of the people involved. To attack someone based on an immutable characteristic shows immaturity and I believe you lose most of your credibility when you engage in that behaviour.
You can't be body positive but also throw around the phrase "small d*ck energy".
You can't be anti-racist but then call people "coons".
You can't claim to want to elevate the voices of minorities but only want to hear from people you agree with.
You can't say you respect women but then only respect the women you find attractive.
All I ask is that you be consistent in your ideology.
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