On how we treat people

With the massive rise of social media I have also seen a shift in people's behaviour. Although I don't think any this is new I think perhaps it has further reach than it used to. Nor do I think it's the fault of the internet, it's definitely the fault of the people on the internet. There are however more tools for bullying & shaming people. More people can also join in & be encouraged to join in. There are pages on Facebook whose sole purpose is to shame embarrass people. People will be nasty online in ways they wouldn't in real life. A friend of mine once compared it to road rage & I can definitely see where he is coming from.

We forget that behind the screens, behind people's tough exterior they are often vulnerable. People have a lot of power to do good but we have just as much if not more power to harm.

Harassment, shaming, bullying are these really traits of your humanity that you want to be proud of?

On whether I hate men or not

Whenever people find out about my politics the first question they tend to as me is "Do you hate men then?" Followed by "Do you think men can be feminists?" "Do men experience sexism?" All of the questions I get asked relate to men. They don't ask me, how I feel we can change things for the better for women. They don't ask me which areas I am most involved in. They don't ask me about my praxis nor about any of my personal experience. They also crucially don't ask me what they can do themselves to get involved. All of their questions relate to centring the narrative on men.

So in essence, I refuse to answer any more questions such as the above. They are not important, they just seek to further the status quo. Start asking me serious, genuine questions & you might find my responses a lot warmer. Start showing me you genuinely care & again you may find me a lot warmer. My personal feelings about men, whatever they may be are none of your business.

On Being Difficult

I get told that I'm difficult or difficult to talk to on a relatively regular basis. The source of these comments is 90% of the time, well you can guess by now can't you? I presume that they find me difficult because I won't just listen to them chat shit without speaking up when they say something I disagree with. I presume they find me difficult when their "jokes" are met with a blank stare & me proclaiming that I don't think they're funny. I presume they find me difficult because it's never crossed their minds how what they say could possibly affect others. Especially how much their words could hurt someone. They are so used to their dominant position in society that they don't expect anyone to express their disagreement. Oh oops I've gotta stop I can hear an incoming "not all" argument followed by " but I'm a NICE GUY". Here, borrow my phone, call someone who cares. Because I am proud that my words, deem me threatening enough for you to call me difficult.

Would the ideal for them being people like me staying quiet? Probably. Does this mean I'm going to be quiet? I'll let you guess ;-)