TW// cyber bullying, mental health, hate
This is going to be a long one, so if you take your time and read it; thank you.
This is not (only) about the Lando situation, this is about every situation that has caused us to hate on each other, or worse; hurt each other’s feelings. First of all, I’m not saying people shouldn’t hold drivers accountable. They should, if they feel like it. But there’s a difference between holding someone accountable and hating on them with disgusting behavior. You might think drivers have everything they need in life, so they won’t get hurt by your words (yes, I’ve read it somewhere, that they have their perfect little lives so they won’t care about our opinion anyway). I hate to break it to you; they HAVE feelings, and just because they have money and they do what they love, it doesn’t mean they won’t be bothered about what they read online. Trust me, they are human beings too. And this is where cyber bullying comes in the story: you might not think what you do counts as bullying, because you do it in the name of “holding people accountable”, but some people cross the line with some of their posts. Twisting people’s words to match their agenda, comparing drivers to others, like any of them are better or worse. Not to mention when people come after the fans and call them ridiculous names and close the whole situation with “huh, so you will defend your fave no matter what”. So what? If they don’t think someone offended them, let them be! Sadly I’ve seen the affect of cyber bullying first hand in my life already, and I know the consequences it can hold. Mental health is not something you should joke around with, and you have to see how your words might affect others. So all I’m asking is before you write hateful things, no matter if it’s towards a driver or a fan, ask yourself: “can I hurt someone with what I’m about to say?” Be the bigger person and accept every opinion. You don’t have to agree with anything, but you should see how we’re all different. What bothers one person, the other might not even care. And also, we all have to see how drivers can change and learn from their mistakes. I think we could find interviews where even Lewis or Seb or Daniel or really anyone said things we would be offended by now. But obviously it was years ago, they learned from their mistakes and they matured. All in all: don’t state your opinion like it’s facts. Don’t think people who think otherwise are wrong. And most importantly: do NOT be a bully. If your reasoning is good, people will understand you and your opinions. They might even change their own point of view. But if you turn to them with hate and disgusting behavior, all you’re going to achieve is hurting others. Which is probably the one thing you preach about when calling drivers out. So think about that for a minute, when you cross that line.
