Let’s be kinder
I must admit that I too, am at fault for this. I have rushed in to get mad at people when I should have been polite, and should have explained things instead of condemning straight away.
I am not the first person to talk about this at all, but because I keep seeing things coming up, I feel the need to mention this.
We need to stop getting mad at people for not knowing better.
We need to educate people before getting upset at them.
I remember getting angry at this girl at summer camp last year for saying things that were lowkey homophobic and racist and I honestly should have reacted differently.
I grew up in a far more diverse environment than she did, so I knew more about respecting people’s differences and why certain things weren’t okay to say or do. She didn’t. And I should have realized that this wasn’t entirely her fault.
She grew up in an area that was mostly straight, white, and Christian. She had nobody to teach her better. And I regret that though I could have taught her, I became upset at her instead.
Do you know what happens when you judge someone instead of trying to teach them?
- They will not want to learn, and if they do learn, they will follow that hate and do the exact same thing - resort to condemnation before education.
Intolerance is not just refusing to accept those who are different, it is refusing to be kind to those who have never learned better.
You cannot learn math from a teacher who only yells at you for wrong answers. The only way it will truly make sense is if they explain it patiently and thoroughly. If that teacher is condescending the whole time, who could blame you for not wanting to learn math at all?
If you think about it, teaching social issues isn’t really that different. We can rage and scream all we want, but the only people who will listen to us are the people who already agree.
We need to be kinder. Especially with everything going on in the world right now. If we are ever going to change anything, we must do it with kindness and patience, because that is truly the most effective way.
All I’m going to leave you with is a quote from Malala Yousafzai, an advocate for peace and girls’ education.
“With guns, you can kill terrorists. With education, you can kill terrorism.”











