A couple months ago I decided to stop posting political stuff because in my head I was like, "It's not really going to do any good." Two months ago Tawnya was right. We post and post, making comments, sometimes just reading the comments for fun... thinking that we are going to change someone's mind. In reality most of the time when someone posts something, well at least in my case... I'm not actually interested in your opinion. I know that is a crazy thing to say in this opinionated social media mixed-up world. Most of the time when I post something, I genuinely believe in what I am posting, knowing full well that most of the people that I am "friends" with aren't going to agree with me.
I'm completely fine when people don't agree with me. In all reality when I stand before Jesus, the only person that I have to answer for is myself. I am not going to answer for the President, or my next door neighbor, or even the person that posted the awful meme to my page that I don't even remotely agree with. I don't account for any of those people. I only account for myself. Therefore you are allowed to think, and believe however you want.
Here's the thing though, the minute you start name calling, degrading, or making fun of people for their opinion is the minute I lose all respect for you. In my experience most of the people that are doing the name calling and degrading of others are the same people that claim to follow a God that loves everyone, and would NEVER stoop so low as to call someone a derogatory name based on their beliefs. It is amazing to me how day after day I come across awful remarks that people have said to each other, and about one specific type of political party. It amazes me how the same people preaching sacrificial love, are the ones spewing hate for that same love.
I'm not here to judge other people's lives, because honestly I have my own stuff that I need to deal with. But I won't be party to people being rude, hateful, or derogatory. Rape is never okay with me. Hate is never okay with me. Making fun of someone that is disabled and using the R word is not okay with me. These things aren't going to ever be okay with me. But I know that not everyone sees these things as evil. In fact a lot of people think that it is perfectly okay to rape someone when you are 17 because you are drunk, and never get held accountable for it. Some people think that rape is just a part of life for women, and that every woman who cries "rape" is a liar. Here's the thing, yes there are some women that have cried rape and it wasn't. But you know what? There are even more women that have been raped, and been too scared to tell anyone because they are afraid no one will believe them. Better yet there are more women that have been raped, tried to tell someone and NO ONE believed them.
But it is easier to just call the woman a liar, right? It is easier to just believe the man, because after all men are the superior being, right? It makes me sick to my stomach to think that there are girls out there being raped, molested, and abused that are too scared to go to their fathers, uncles, pastors because they are seeing what is going on in the news right now and questioning themselves. Maybe they had been drinking, and he had been drinking, but she still said no, and he went ahead anyways and did what he wanted to do. Then she turned on the news today, and saw where someone said that a 17 year old drunk male doesn't really know what he is doing, and therefore shouldn't be held accountable. So, she stays quiet. Because her Dad is on the church board, and has been a Republican his whole life, and she knows he won't understand. She stays quiet because in her youth group last night the only thing people were talking about was what a liar this woman is and every woman for that matter, that rape if the girl is drunk means that she is partly to blame too because she got drunk in the first place. So, she stays quiet, and doesn't say a word. Meanwhile the boy who raped her is sitting across from her in the same youth group. He doesn't feel any remorse. In fact he feels like he has just been given a green light. It's okay what happened, because they were both drunk, and he didn't really know what he was doing. He won't do it again. Well at least not with her, next time it will be another girl, at another party, while his parents think he is at a friend's house studying for his upcoming exam.
There are definitely two sides to every story. The truth is that we hear the story that we want to hear. We make excuses for those that we want to be in the right. We put on blinders to those that we think are in the wrong. In our society we automatically believe the white man first. There is bias, whether you want to believe it or not. We have grown up in such a way that our class and race does matter. For me I want to take the time to understand the other side to the story. Getting the facts, and looking them in the face. When I have been able to see both sides without bias, and can make a decision based on that, then I have the right to voice my opinion against someone else's. Meanwhile I really ought to keep my mouth shut.
I also feel like there is this thing where people only comment when they have a problem with what you are posting. Like oh.... I'm not going to like anything that you ever say, but how dare you post something that I don't agree with and then I am going to tell you that you are wrong. Here's the thing.... get to know me. Engage in conversation with me, and then we can talk about things. But the minute you start just putting me down, and my opinions on something down without engaging in my life... well you aren't going to get very far. You have a right to your opinion, but I also have the right to delete it, and not think about it again. I listen more to people that actually take the time to get to know who I am as a person, not just pop in whenever they want to tell me that my opinion is wrong.
This is why most of the time I am not going to care about your opinion, because most of the time when you are spouting off one insult after another you haven't take the time to actually do any research. Most of the time you are going off whatever little snipet you have just seen on social media that caught your eye. The people I respect and want to engage in actual conversation with, are the ones that have actually taken the time to research and want to engage in a loving, kind way.. not just trying to make waves on FB.
So, if you are still reading this, and you want to have an intelligent conversation about something that we disagree on, let me know... otherwise let's just keep doing what we do.... I won't interfere in your opinion and you don't interfere in mine.
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