If there is one thing I have noticed these days and it is that people get offended a lot easily than before, Sometimes you will hear someone say something that was not even meant to insult anybody and before you know it there is a blown argument because someone took the opinion the wrong way.
Now do not get me wrong , there are things that are genuinely offensive, There are words that are hateful, disrespectful or intentionally meant to hurt people, I am not talking about those ones, If someone deliberately says something to insult or degrade another person then they should be held accountable.. I also think we have reached a point where people are becoming afraid to express their opinions at all.. that is not healthy either.
These days before saying anything people are already thinking, what if someone gets offended? So as a result many people simply keep quiet not because they have nothing to say but because they do not want unnecessary drama.
Personally I think that is a problem, one thing that I have learned is that not every disagreement is an attack,Just because someone has a different opinion from my opinion that does not automatically mean they are trying to disrespect me, Sometimes people simply see life differently because they have had experiences.. That is okay, if we all thought the same way conversations would become very boring, as a man I believe people should be able to speak their minds respectfully.....Noticed I said respectfully.
There is a difference between being honest and being rude, You can disagree with someone without insulting them, You can correct someone without embarrassing them, you can share your opinion without making it your mission to hurt somebody's feelings, I think that is where many people get it wrong, some people hide behind the phrase I am just telling the truth and when in reality they are simply being harsh.
On the hand some people hear anything they do not like and immediately label it as offensive without even trying to understand the persons intention, both extremes are dangerous, I believe the opinion intention matters, Context matters, The way something is communicated also matters, If someone makes a mistake or phrases something poorly I think we should be willing to have a conversation instead of immediately trying to cancel or silence them, sometimes all that is needed is, I do not think that came across the way you intended, that opens the door for understanding.
Instead of turning every disagreement into a battle we should learn to ask questions , explain our perspectives and actually listen to each other, I honestly think we have lost some of that, Social media has made it worse because people react within seconds without taking time to understand what was actually said, everybody wants to respond very few people want to understand first, at the time I also believe we all have a responsibility to think before we speak, Freedom of speech does not mean fredom from consequences, our words carry weight, We should be mindful of how they affect other people,being mindful should not mean living in constant fear of saying the wrong thing.
There has to be a balance, for me the better way is simple speak with respect, listen with patience If someone says something you do not agree with try to understand where they are coming from before assuming the worst, at the end of the day conversations about opinions are how people learn, If everyone becomes too afraid to speak because they are worried about offending somebody , we will stop having discussions and when honest discussions about opinions disappear , understanding disappears too, for me that is a bigger problem, than occasionally hearing an opinion I do not agree with.
Image Credit : ChatGpt
