Just think twice
Some people seem to think that things they post online are not part of who they are and don’t affect how others think about them. They are also surprised when someone calls them out for a sexist, racist or hateful in my way meme they posted.
You are the curator of your feed
Recently on the Facebook wall of the person, I know I saw a meme that was racist. It surprised me as I thought he is more open-minded and won’t let himself post so stupid things.
When I wrote him a private message telling that this post is racist and I’m surprised seeing something like that on his feed, he said I don’t know him and should rethink my comment about inappropriate behavior as he just thought it’s funny and he’s not a racist.
It confused me. How he can amplify something what he knew is hateful and say he’s tolerant and do not identify with it, but just re-posted ‘for fun’. In case you were wondering, no, he’s not a teenager, just a 40yo men.
I believe that similar ambiguous motivation had men complaining to Joe about his call to not objectify women in designs.
I feel there’s something in what Joe highlighted. There’s a reason. If you create or re-post something degrading other human being in any way, it’s not accidental. It tells something about you and your values or lack of these.
Social consent?
Objectifying women in slide designs, advertisements was a standard which (I believe) is disappearing now and more people are calling it out.
It’s really sad that things which not so long ago people wouldn’t say out loud walking with friends in public, now post freely thinking it’s just for ‘fun’ and believe that this excuse justifies it. Hateful posts in a form of a meme are something some people don’t feel embarrassed to share online now. Does the medium make it more distant, less personal than something coming through their mouth? I’m not saying about Twitter where people may be annonymous but Facebook, where people are signed with their names and post things so their friends and family can see.
Times are changing
I’m from the generation who’s tired of dry jokes of an uncle who thinks they are hilarious (while they’re just sexist, racist, and stupid) and all the family is laughing just to be nice as they used to for years.
I’m really tired of people spreading hate dressed as a joke thinking it’s ok.
I turned 36 last week. I feel that with passing years I’m becoming less tolerant towards stupidity and it applies to all spheres of life. In contrary to times when I was younger and I felt I shouldn’t call such things out as I was shy and not confident enough, now I have the opposite approach. Stupidity makes my blood boil and only saying (respectfully) what I think, I can put this fire out.
Next time you want to re-post something, please think twice if it’s something that you’d feel comfortable saying out loud or showing to your parents. If not, just scroll away.
If you’ll see that one of your friends posted some rubbish, and you feel uncomfortable about it, if you are able and feel like, talk to them. Sometimes people may not be aware of the strength of the meaning or sometimes they do it on purpose, so you can consider if you want them to keep on being your friend online or in a real life.
But as with everything it’s up to you, us, what we do in such cases. Just don’t be indifferent as indifference took the world already to dark places.
Thanks for reading the 37th post from My 52 problems series.
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